B J van de Water1, T N Meyer2,3, M Wilson4, C Young5, B Gaunt2,3,6, K W le Roux2,3,6. 1. Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. 2. Department of Family Medicine, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa. 3. Zithulele District Hospital, Eastern Cape Department of Health, Mqunduli, South Africa. 4. Advance Access and Delivery, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. 5. Jabulani Rural Health Foundation, Mqanduli, South Africa. 6. Primary Healthcare Directorate, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Abstract
SETTING: Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa. OBJECTIVE: To identify steps in the TB preventive care cascade from routinely collected data among TB patients at a district hospital prior to the implementation of a novel TB program. DESIGN: This was a retrospective study. We adapted the TB prevention cascade to measure indicators routinely collected at district hospitals for TB using a cascade framework to evaluate outcomes in the cohort of close contacts. RESULTS: A total of 1,722 charts of TB patients were reviewed. The majority of patients (87%) were newly diagnosed with no previous episodes of TB. A total of 1,548 (90%) patients identified at least one close contact. A total of 7,548 contacts were identified with a median of 4.9 (range 1-16) contacts per patient. Among all contacts identified, 2,913 (39%) were screened for TB. Only 15 (0.5%) started TB preventive therapy and 122 (4.4%) started TB treatment. Nearly 25% of all medical history and clinical information was left unanswered among the 1,722 TB charts reviewed. CONCLUSION: Few close contacts were screened or started on TB preventive therapy in this cohort. Primary care providers for TB care in district health facilities should be informed of best practices for screening and treating TB infection and disease.
SETTING: Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa. OBJECTIVE: To identify steps in the TB preventive care cascade from routinely collected data among TB patients at a district hospital prior to the implementation of a novel TB program. DESIGN: This was a retrospective study. We adapted the TB prevention cascade to measure indicators routinely collected at district hospitals for TB using a cascade framework to evaluate outcomes in the cohort of close contacts. RESULTS: A total of 1,722 charts of TB patients were reviewed. The majority of patients (87%) were newly diagnosed with no previous episodes of TB. A total of 1,548 (90%) patients identified at least one close contact. A total of 7,548 contacts were identified with a median of 4.9 (range 1-16) contacts per patient. Among all contacts identified, 2,913 (39%) were screened for TB. Only 15 (0.5%) started TB preventive therapy and 122 (4.4%) started TB treatment. Nearly 25% of all medical history and clinical information was left unanswered among the 1,722 TB charts reviewed. CONCLUSION: Few close contacts were screened or started on TB preventive therapy in this cohort. Primary care providers for TB care in district health facilities should be informed of best practices for screening and treating TB infection and disease.
Authors: Paul A Harris; Robert Taylor; Robert Thielke; Jonathon Payne; Nathaniel Gonzalez; Jose G Conde Journal: J Biomed Inform Date: 2008-09-30 Impact factor: 6.317
Authors: Molebogeng X Rangaka; Solange C Cavalcante; Ben J Marais; Sok Thim; Neil A Martinson; Soumya Swaminathan; Richard E Chaisson Journal: Lancet Date: 2015-10-26 Impact factor: 79.321