ArticleBMC infectious diseases2017
The effect of the Xpert MTB/RIF test on the time to MDR-TB treatment initiation in a rural setting: a cohort study in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of molecular diagnostic tests on diagnostic and treatment delays in tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC infectious diseases · 2022Pooled it
- Factors influencing diagnosis and treatment initiation for multidrug-resistant/rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis in six sub-Saharan African countries: a mixed-methods systematic review.BMJ global health · 2020Pooled it
- Delayed diagnosis of patients with rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis and its associated factors in a high tuberculosis endemic area Guizhou, China.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Time to treatment initiation in pregnant women with tuberculosis in Cape Town, South Africa.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Time to treatment initiation in pregnant women with tuberculosis in Cape Town, South Africa.PloS one · 2026Article
- Performance evaluation of the Xpert MTB/XDR test for the detection of drug resistance toJournal of clinical microbiology · 2024Article
- Sources of knowledge empowerment amongst pregnant women with TB disease: A qualitative study in South Africa.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- Pediatric multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis in Germany - diagnostic and therapeutic challenges of an "orphan disease".European journal of pediatrics · 2023Article
- Time to Treatment and Risk Factors for Unsuccessful Treatment Outcomes among People Who Started Second-Line Treatment for Rifampicin-Resistant or Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in the Kyrgyz Republic, 2021.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2023Article
- Time-to-Treatment Initiation in a Decentralised Community-Care Model of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Management in the OR Tambo District Municipality of South Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Linkage to care and treatment outcomes for patients diagnosed with drug-susceptible tuberculosis using Xpert MTB/RIF assay in Thaba-Tseka district in Lesotho.IJID regions · 2022Article
- Leveraging Molecular Diagnostic Technologies to Close the Global Cancer Pathology Gap.JCO global oncology · 2022Article
- The Role of GeneXpert MTB/RIF in Reducing Treatment Delay Among Multidrug Resistance Tuberculosis Patients: A Propensity Score Matched Analysis.Infection and drug resistance · 2022Article
- Xpert MTB/RIF Use Is Associated With Earlier Treatment Initiation and Culture Conversion Among Patients With Sputum Smear-Negative Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis.Open forum infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Observational
- Ease and equity of access to free DR-TB services in Nigeria- a qualitative analysis of policies, structures and processes.International journal for equity in health · 2020Article
- Impact of Molecular Drug Susceptibility Testing on the Time to Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis Treatment Initiation.Journal of Korean medical science · 2020Article
- Rifampicin Resistant Tuberculosis in Lesotho: Diagnosis, Treatment Initiation and Outcomes.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- High Prevalence of Rifampicin Resistance Associated with Rural Residence and Very Low Bacillary Load among TB/HIV-Coinfected Patients at the National Tuberculosis Treatment Center in Uganda.BioMed research international · 2020Article
- Treatment delay and associated factors among adults with drug resistant tuberculosis at treatment initiating centers in the Amhara regional state, Ethiopia.BMC infectious diseases · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere are significant delays in initiation of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR -TB) treatment. The Xpert MTB/RIF test has been shown to reduce the time to diagnosis and treatment of MDR-TB predominantly in urban centres. This study describes the time to treatment of MDR-TB and the effect of Xpert MTB/RIF on time to treatment in a deprived rural area in South Africa.
methodsThis was a retrospective cohort study analysing the medical records of patients diagnosed with MDR-TB in King Sabata Dalindyebo Sub-District between 2009 and 2014. Numerical data were reported using the Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon sum rank tests and categorical data compared using the two-sample test of proportions.
resultsOf the 342 patients with MDR-TB identified, 285 were eligible for analysis, of whom 145 (61.4%) were HIV positive. The median time from sputum collection to MDR-TB diagnosis was 27 days (IQR: 2-45) and differed significantly between diagnostic modalities: Xpert MTB/RIF, 1 day (IQR: 1-4; n = 114: p < 0.0001); Line Probe Assay 12 days (IQR: 8-21; n = 28; p < 0.0001); and culture/phenotypic drug sensitivity testing 45 days (IQR: 39-59; n = 143: p < 0.0001). The time from diagnosis to treatment initiation was 14 days (IQR: 8-27) and did not differ significantly between diagnostic modality. The median time from sputum collection to treatment initiation was 49 days (IQR: 20-69) but differed significantly between diagnostic modalities: Xpert MTB/RIF, 18 days (IQR: 11-27; n = 114; p < 0.0001); Line Probe Assay 29 days (IQR: 14.5-53; n = 28; p < 0.0001); and culture/phenotypic drug sensitivity, 64 days (IQR: 50-103; n = 143: P < 0.0001). Age, sex and HIV status did not influence the time intervals.
conclusionsXpert MTB/RIF significantly reduced the time to MDR-TB treatment in a deprived rural setting as a result of a reduced time to diagnosis. However, the national target of five days was not achieved. Further research is needed to explore and address programmatic and patient-related challenges contributing to delayed treatment initiation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.