Are we missing ‘previously treated’ smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis under programme settings in India?
Abstract
Background In 2007, a field observation from India reported 11% misclassification among ‘new’ patients registered under the revised national tuberculosis (TB) control programme. 10 years down the line, it is important to know what proportion of newly registered patients has a past history of TB treatment for at least one month (henceforth called ‘misclassification’). Methods A study was conducted among new smear-positive pulmonary TB patients registered between March 2016 and February 2017 in 18 randomly selected districts to determine the effectiveness of an active case-finding strategy in marginalised and vulnerable populations. We included all patients detected through active case-finding. An equal number of randomly selected patients registered through passive case-finding from marginalised and vulnerable populations in the same districts were included. Before enrolment, we enquired about any history of previous TB treatment through interviews. This research was supported by the UK Department for International Development’s Operational Research Capacity Building Programme led by the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease (The Union)