ArticlePublic health action2020
Pre-treatment lost to follow-up tuberculosis patients, Chongwe, Zambia, 2017: a retrospective cohort study.
Article in Public health action, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of the diagnostic test Xpert MTB/RIF on patient outcomes for tuberculosis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Epidemiological trends in tuberculosis during a technical assistance project, Lusaka, Zambia, 2018-2021.Public health action · 2026Article
- Evaluating the impact of decentralized testing for tuberculosis in Ghana: A simulation model.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Facilitators and barriers for completion of the diagnostic process among people with presumed tuberculosis in Central Uganda.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Pre-diagnosis and pre-treatment loss to follow-up and associated factors among patients with presumed tuberculosis and those diagnosed in Uganda.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Epidemiological trends in TB during a technical assistance project, Zambia, 2015-2018.Public health action · 2024Article
- Reducing Initial Loss to Follow-up Among People With Bacteriologically Confirmed Tuberculosis: LINKEDin, a Quasi-experimental Study in South Africa.Open forum infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Causes of pre-treatment loss to follow-up in patients with TB.Public health action · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
settingFour tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic health facilities of the Chongwe District, Zambia.
objectiveTo determine the frequency of bacteriologically confirmed TB patients lost to follow-up (LTFU) before treatment from January to December 2017.
designThis is a retrospective cohort study involving the review of TB registers. Information on presumptive TB patients who tested positive either by smear microscopy or Xpert
resultsTwo hundred and seventeen bacteriologically confirmed TB patients were found in the laboratory TB registers. Of these, 145 (67%) were males and seven (3%) were children; 177 (81%) patients were diagnosed using Xpert, while the remaining 40 (19%) were diagnosed using sputum smear microscopy. A total of 71 (33%) were not linked to treatment. Those diagnosed using smear microscopy were 2.5 times (95% CI 1.1-5.3) more likely to be LTFU before treatment than those diagnosed using Xpert.
conclusionAbout one third of TB patients who were not linked to treatment could potentially extend the duration of bacilli transmission in their communities. National TB control programmes should consider including LTFU patients before treatment in routine monitoring and evaluation.
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