The Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) in Mangalore and McGill International TB Centre are set to release an android-based app for tuberculosis patients on World Tuberculosis Day on March 24. The app endorsed by the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme and WHO India, was included in the new initiatives unveiled during the End TB Summit recently held in New Delhi. The app called N-TB will let the user calculate his or her body mass index (BMI).

If the BMI is very low, the app will red-flag the fact and provide guidance on how to manage severe undernutrition. The app will help provide a treatment plan to achieve a desirable weight and will recommend the daily caloric and protein intake. It will also offer counselling tips on diet with an emphasis on the value of locally available foods in contrast to costly nutritional supplements, activity and lifestyle. The app can be downloaded for free on Google Play. The app is developed by Dr. Anurag Bhargava and his wife Dr. Madhavi Bhargava. Dr. Anurag said undernourished patients are at higher risk of serious side-effects from drugs, poor absorption of drugs, reduced ability to return to work and recurrence of disease after cure.

Tuberculosis often results in significant weight loss, which can aggravate underlying undernutrition. Studies in India have shown that 50% of adult men and women with tuberculosis weigh below 42 kg and 38 kg respectively. Studies have also shown that TB patients in rural India have life-threatening levels of low BMI. The app is important in a country like India because undernutrition in TB patients have been shown to be a consistent risk factor for death. The current levels of TB mortality in India are high with 423,000 deaths due to TB, said Dr Madhukar Pai, associate director, McGill International TB Centre.

The centre has announced a direct benefit transfer of Rs500 per month from April 2018 to enable nutritional support for TB patients. All these initiatives will require healthcare providers to be skilled in nutritional assessment and counselling, and the N-TB is the first-of-its-kind app for healthcare providers.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 23, 2018 11:10 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).