SynthesisThe Lancet. Public health2021
Community-based active case-finding interventions for tuberculosis: a systematic review.
Synthesis in The Lancet. Public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 134 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
134 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 176 citations in OpenAlex.
- Urban and rural prevalence of tuberculosis in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Worldwide threatening prevalence of carbapenem-resistantEpidemiology and infection · 2025Pooled it
- Number needed to screen for TB in clinical, structural or occupational risk groups.The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease · 2022Pooled it
- Symptom- and chest-radiography screening for active pulmonary tuberculosis in HIV-negative adults and adults with unknown HIV status.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Evaluation of C-Reactive Protein and Computer-Aided Analysis of Chest X-rays as Tuberculosis Triage Tests at Health Facilities in Lesotho and South Africa.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2024Trial
- Comparison of two diagnostic intervention packages for community-based active case finding for tuberculosis: an open-label randomized controlled trial.Nature medicine · 2023Trial
- Reimagining tuberculosis detection in Somalia: from passive to active case finding.Journal of clinical tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases · 2026Article
- mHealth-supported tuberculosis contact investigation by community health workers in high-burden countries: a scoping review.Global health action · 2026Article
- Community-based "X-ray+Xpert® MTB/RIF ultra pooling test" case-finding strategy among high-risk groups in rural areas: a prospective application study.Emerging microbes & infections · 2026Article
- Household structures and exposure networks among people with multidrug-resistant TB in Namibia.IJTLD open · 2026Article
- Centralized molecular testing of community-collected tongue swabs for tuberculosis screening among household contacts: a cross-sectional diagnostic performance, yield, and implementation study.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Public transport: the missing link in tuberculosis control in Somalia.Journal of clinical tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases · 2026Article
- A public-private partnership for facility-based tuberculosis screening using chest radiographs, Viet Nam.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2026Article
- Predicting Tuberculosis Outcomes Using Routine Surveillance Data in Chiang Mai, Thailand: Retrospective Cohort Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2026Article
- Computer-aided detection thresholds can guide repeat rapid molecular testing in TB screening.IJTLD open · 2026Article
- Comparison of active and passive case finding on diagnostic delay and treatment outcomes in older patients with pulmonary tuberculosis: a cohort study using real-world data.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Population-oriented health promotion and disease prevention interventions in primary healthcare: a scoping review of reviews.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Genomic epidemiology ofMicrobial genomics · 2026Article
- Article
- Trade-offs in diagnostic algorithm, population coverage, and duration of community screening for tuberculosis: A modelling study.PLoS medicine · 2026Article
74 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 8 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCommunity-based active case-finding interventions might identify and treat more people with tuberculosis disease than standard case detection. We aimed to assess whether active case-finding interventions can affect tuberculosis epidemiology in the wider community.
methodsWe did a systematic review by searching PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library for studies that compared tuberculosis case notification rates, tuberculosis disease prevalence, or tuberculosis infection prevalence or incidence in children, between populations exposed and unexposed to active case-finding interventions. We included studies published in English between Jan 1, 1980, and April 13, 2020. Studies of active case-finding in the general population, in populations perceived to be at high risk for tuberculosis, and in closed settings were included, whereas studies of tuberculosis screening at health-care facilities, among household contacts, or among children only, and studies that screened fewer than 1000 people were excluded. To estimate effectiveness, we extracted or calculated case notification rates, prevalence of tuberculosis disease, and incidence or prevalence of tuberculosis infection in children, and compared ratios of these outcomes between groups that were exposed or not exposed to active case-finding interventions.
results27 883 abstracts were screened and 988 articles underwent full text review. 28 studies contributed data for analysis of tuberculosis case notifications, nine for prevalence of tuberculosis disease, and two for incidence or prevalence of tuberculosis infection in children. In one cluster-randomised trial in South Africa and Zambia, an active case-finding intervention based on community mobilisation and sputum drop-off did not affect tuberculosis prevalence, whereas, in a cluster-randomised trial in Vietnam, an active case-finding intervention based on sputum tuberculosis tests for everyone reduced tuberculosis prevalence in the community. We found inconsistent, low-quality evidence that active case-finding might increase the number of cases of tuberculosis notified in populations with structural risk factors for tuberculosis.
interpretationCommunity-based active case-finding for tuberculosis might be effective in changing tuberculosis epidemiology and thereby improving population health if delivered with high coverage and intensity. If possible, active case-finding projects should incorporate a well designed, robust evaluation to contribute to the evidence base and help elucidate which delivery methods and diagnostic strategies are most effective.
fundingWHO Global TB Programme.
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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.