Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27258370›Full record

ArticlePloS one2016

Regular Sputum Check-Up for Early Diagnosis of Tuberculosis after Exposure in Healthcare Facilities.

Wen-Cheng Chao, Chieh-Liang Wu, Po-Yu Liu, Chi-Chang Shieh

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 39% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Disposal of the large volume of sputum positive forInfection prevention in practice · 2020
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Wen-Cheng ChaoDepartment of Medical Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
Chieh-Liang WuDepartment of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veteran General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
Po-Yu LiuDepartment of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veteran General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
Chi-Chang ShiehInstitute of Clinical Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan, Taiwan.
National Cheng Kung University · TWTaichung Veterans General Hospital · TW

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe early diagnosis of patients with TB disease is critical after an outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) infection in healthcare facilities. In this study, we report a catastrophic TB outbreak in a psychiatric healthcare facility and analyze the role of regular sputum check-ups and other diagnostic tools to facilitate an early diagnosis.

methodsEvery exposed participant received regular sputum check-ups and chest X-rays (CXR) as part of the outbreak management protocol. We retrospectively analyzed data from the contact participants to identify risk factors for eventual TB development and investigated the diagnostic efficacy of regular sputum check-ups.

resultsAmong 133 contact participants, 16 (12.0%) developed TB during the 4-year follow-up period. Low body-mass-index (BMI) (<21) (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 3.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-8.98) and long duration of contact (>3 months) (aHR 8.70, 95% CI, 1.14-63.34) independently predicted the development of TB. Even though regular sputum check-ups required significant resources, they did facilitate the early identification of new TB cases among the contact participants. Regular sputum check-ups for high-risk patients based on BMI, contact duration and CXR findings may be a practical approach when compared with universal sputum follow-up, with a slightly decreased sensitivity but high positive likelihood ratio (88%, [95% CI, 62-98%] and 5.12, [95%CI, 3.30-7.95], respectively).

conclusionWhile regular sputum check-ups for all contact participants facilitated the early identification of cases after the outbreak of TB in the healthcare facility, regular sputum check-ups for high-risk patients might be an effective alternative in resource-limited settings.

Indexed as

AdultDisease OutbreaksEarly DiagnosisFemaleGenotypeHealth FacilitiesHumansMiddle AgedMycobacterium tuberculosisRetrospective StudiesSputumTuberculosisX-Rays

Identifiers

PMID27258370
PMCPMC4892557
OpenAlexW2416443128

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.