The guide focuses on issues of importance to nurses and the types of care they provide to individuals with drug-resistant TB.
For the first time in almost 50 years there are two new drugs for the treatment of drug-resistant TB (DR-TB): bedaquiline and delamanid. There has also been increased attention given to the safety and efficacy of “re-purposed” drugs that have been widely used to treat other infections but are also showing promise in the treatment of DR-TB, including linezolid and clofazimine. Multiple guidelines, field handbooks, and training materials have been developed but they largely focus program managers and physicians.
This special supplemental guide has been developed for nurses for several reasons. First, nurses are almost always the front-line care providers for patients with DR-TB. They spend the most time with patients, provide the bulk of actual caregiving, and are the people patients tend to turn to first when they have questions or concerns. Because of this, it is essential that nurses be provided with material that maximizes their ability to provide optimal support to patients who are receiving new and re-purposed drugs.
The field guide is developed and written by The SWIFT Response Project (www.swiftresponseproject.org).
To download the guide, click here.