Nutritional Care and Support of Patients With Tuberculosis in India

LetsTalkTB_1Authors: Dr Anurag Bhargava, MD, MSc and Dr Madhavi Bhargava, MD
Number of pages: 8
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Overview: Nutritional care is considered fundamental to clinical practice and recognised to be an integral part of TB care, by the WHO and the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme(RNTCP). Undernutrition is a comorbidity which is widely prevalent, severe, and persistent even after cure in Indian patients, in the absence of nutritional support. This increases their risk of mortality, drug-induced hepatotoxicity, malabsorption of key drugs like rifampicin, performance status, and relapse even after successful treatment. Providers need to assess weight, height, edema, estimate BMI & measure haemoglobin. BMI < 14 kg/m2, edema, severe anaemia, inability to stand, are red-flag features which mandate referral for initial inpatient care. Patients should be counselled on an appropriate balanced diet with 3 meals and at least 2 snacks. The RNTCP has evolved food assistance packages consisting of cereals, groundnuts or pulses, milk powder or oil for provision of around 1000 calories and up to 50 gram proteins to patients during treatment, suggests provision of 1 recommended daily allowance of micronutrients and an enhanced quantum of food rations through the public distribution system to TB affected households.

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