Which statement about Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) is true?

Which statement about Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) is true?

• A. It guarantees ingestion of all doses
• B. It may be limited by missed appointments or regurgitation
• C. It eliminates monitoring for treatment failure
• D. It has no effect on drug resistance

Answer: (B)

Directly Observed Therapy is a strategy where a health professional supervises the patient swallowing each dose to ensure adherence, used especially for tuberculosis to improve completion of therapy and reduce the chance of resistance. The statement that best fits is that DOT may be limited by missed appointments or regurgitation. If a patient misses an observed dosing session or discards the medication (regurgitation) rather than swallowing it, the intended adherence support is undermined. DOT does not guarantee ingestion of every dose, and ongoing monitoring for treatment response remains necessary. It also does influence drug resistance by promoting adherence, though it does not completely eliminate resistance risk.

Directly Observed Therapy is a strategy where a health professional supervises the patient swallowing each dose to ensure adherence, used especially for tuberculosis to improve completion of therapy and reduce the chance of resistance. The statement that best fits is that DOT may be limited by missed appointments or regurgitation. If a patient misses an observed dosing session or discards the medication (regurgitation) rather than swallowing it, the intended adherence support is undermined. DOT does not guarantee ingestion of every dose, and ongoing monitoring for treatment response remains necessary. It also does influence drug resistance by promoting adherence, though it does not completely eliminate resistance risk.