Are sputum samples of retreatment tuberculosis reaching the reference laboratories? A 9-year audit in Tanzania
OBJECTIVES: The National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Programme (NTLP) requires that all notified cases of retreatment TB in Tanzania have sputum samples sent for culture and drug susceptibility testing (DST). This study determined 1) if the number of annually notified retreatment patients corresponded to the number of sputum samples received by the reference laboratories, and 2) the number of culture-positive samples and the number of cases undergoing DST.
DESIGN: Nine-year audit of country-wide programme data from 2002 to 2010.
RESULTS: Of the 40 940 retreatment TB patients notified by the NTLP, 3871 (10%) had their sputum samples received at the reference and zonal laboratories for culture and DST. A total of 3761 (97%) sputum samples were processed for culture, of which 1589 (42%) were found to be culture-positive and 1415 (89%) had DST performed.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a >90% shortfall between notified retreatment cases and numbers of sputum samples received, cultured and assessed for DST at reference and zonal laboratories. Steps needed to address this problem are discussed.
Keywords: DST; Tanzania; operational research; retreatment TB; sputum
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: National Institute for Medical Research, Muhimbili Medical Research Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and Centre for International Health, University of Bergen, Norway 2: National Institute for Medical Research, Muhimbili Medical Research Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 3: National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Program, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 4: National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Program, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Program, Central TB Reference Laboratory, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 5: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, New Delhi, India 6: Médecins Sans Frontières, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 7: Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium 8: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Paris, France; and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK 9: Médecins Sans Frontières, Brussels Operational Center, Luxembourg 10: Centre for International Health, University of Bergen, Norway
Publication date: 21 June 2013
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