A total of303 patients treated for spinal
tuberculosis were systematically followed up for a
period of 8 years. There were a total of 2243 attendances
due during the period; the patients attended
on the due date on 70.9% of these occasions, and after
defaulter actions on 27.7% occasions. The coverage of
98.6% for an 5-year follow-up was obtained even
though on 50% of these occasions, patients attended
from a suburban area or from outside the city. An average
of 13 visits per default were made and 0.9
letters were posted to retrieve those who did not
attend on the due date. Thus, the high coverage
obtained can be attributed to effective motivation of
the patients by theclinic staff and intensive defaulter
actions