Cross-Sectional Studies

Does distance to healthcare facility affect care-seeking for TB-related symptoms in Tanzania?

BACKGROUND: In high TB burden countries, delayed diagnosis remains a big challenge in TB control. The objective of this study is to assess the role of distance between residence and healthcare facility (HCF) on care-seeking among individuals with …

An easy tool to assess ventilation in health facilities as part of air-borne transmission prevention: a cross-sectional survey from Uganda

BACKGROUND: No guidelines exist on assessing ventilation through air changes per hour (ACH) using a vaneometer. The objective of the study was to evaluate the position and frequency for measuring air velocity using a vaneometer to assess ventilation …

Availability, price and affordability of anti-tuberculosis drugs in Europe: a TBNET survey

Data on availability and cost of anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs in relation to affordability at national level are scarce. We performed a cross-sectional study on availability and cost of anti-TB drugs at major TB-reference centres in 37 European …

Implementation of tuberculosis infection prevention and control in Mozambican health care facilities

SETTING: District and urban health care facilities in three provinces (Manica, Sofala, Tete) in central Mozambique. OBJECTIVE: To assess the level of implementation of selected tuberculosis infection prevention and control (TB-IPC) measures. DESIGN: …

Risk assessment of tuberculosis in immunocompromised patients. A TBNET study

RATIONALE: In the absence of active tuberculosis, a positive tuberculin skin test (TST) or interferon-γ release assay (IGRA) result defines latent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, although test results may vary depending on …

Care seeking in tuberculosis: results from a countrywide cluster randomised survey in Bangladesh

OBJECTIVES: To explore systematically the care seeking trajectories of tuberculosis (TB) cases up to four subsequent places of care and to assess the type of services provided at each place. METHODS: TB cases detected actively during the 2007-2009 …

TB diagnostic process management of patients in a referral hospital in Mozambique in comparison with the 2007 WHO recommendations for the diagnosis of smear-negative pulmonary TB and extrapulmonary TB

BACKGROUND: In sub-Saharan African countries, the high proportion of smear-negative pulmonary TB (SNTB) and extrapulmonary TB (EPTB) contributes to a delay in TB diagnosis and treatment. We evaluated the TB diagnostic process of adult patients with …

Epidemiology of tuberculosis in an urban slum of Dhaka City, Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: The objectives of this study were to assess the tuberculosis (TB) burden and to provide an insight into the type of circulating M. tuberculosis species in urban slums of Bangladesh. We also aimed to test the feasibility of a larger …

Adherence to tuberculosis therapy among patients receiving home-based directly observed treatment: evidence from the United Republic of Tanzania

BACKGROUND: Non-adherence to tuberculosis (TB) treatment is the leading contributor to the selection of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and subsequent treatment failure. Tanzania introduced a TB Patient Centred Treatment (PCT) …

The tuberculin skin test: a comparison of ruler and calliper readings

BACKGROUND: The Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST) is widely used to diagnose latent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TST skin induration may be measured either by a transparent ruler or by a pair of callipers. We hypothesised that the type …