SELF-MEDICATION BEHAVIOR AS MEASURED BY URINE CHEMICAL TESTS IN DOMICILIARY TUBERCULOUS PATIENTS

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Abstract
Twenty-six tuberculous patients discharged from a sanatorium from 0 to 12 months previously were studied for self-medication behavior. Surprise home visits were planned on 8 scheduled days during a 2-month study period. Of the 208 scheduled urine collections, 145 were obtained, yielding 137 positive chemical tests for isoniazid and 133 for p-aminosalicylic acid (PAS). No consistent trend to decreasing regularity of self-administration occurred with the increase of time from discharge. The proportions of positive tests for isoniazid and PAS were about the same, and the first "surprise-visit" specimen yielded the same proportion of positive results as subsequent specimens. Even if the improbable assumption is made that all missed urine specimens represented negative results, it is still estimated that 90% of the total of patients treated after hospitalization were taking isoniazid at least half the time.

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