TB Contact Screening and Preventive Therapy in South India
Author Information
Author(s): Pothukuchi Madhavi, Nagaraja Sharath Burugina, Kelamane Santosha, Satyanarayana Srinath, Shashidhar, Babu Sai, Dewan Puneet, Wares Fraser
Primary Institution: Siddhartha Medical College, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India
Hypothesis
What is the extent of TB screening and initiation of preventive therapy among household contacts under 6 years of age in a South Indian district?
Conclusion
Contact screening and IPT implementation under routine programmatic conditions is sub-optimal.
Supporting Evidence
- 97% of households of sputum smear positive patients were visited.
- 67% of identified child contacts were screened for TB disease.
- None of the screened children were found to have TB disease.
- 84% of screened contacts were initiated on IPT.
Takeaway
The study looked at how well young children living with TB patients are screened for the disease and given preventive medicine, finding that many were not properly screened or treated.
Methodology
A cross-sectional study was conducted with households of all smear positive PTB cases registered for treatment.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the lack of systematic documentation of outcomes for referred children.
Limitations
The study was conducted in one district, which may not represent the entire country, and did not track outcomes of referrals for children not screened.
Participant Demographics
The study included 848 sputum smear positive PTB patients, with 628 men and 197 women, and 172 children under 6 years identified as household contacts.
Statistical Information
Confidence Interval
95% CI; 3.06–14.42
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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