ArticleBMJ global health2021
Standardised patient study to assess tuberculosis case detection within the private pharmacy sector in Vietnam.
Article in BMJ global health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- "Fragmented care pathway in a layered TB care system": a grounded theory approach to understand care pathways and delays in TB care in Odisha.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Engaging community pharmacy in tuberculosis case detection (ENHANCE): a study protocol for an implementation study in Indonesia.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Using Unannounced Standardized Patients to Assess the Quality of Tuberculosis Care and Antibiotic Prescribing: A Cross-Sectional Study on a Low/Middle-Income Country, Pakistan.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Pharmacists' Role in Global TB Elimination: Practices, Pitfalls, and Potential.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Population-wide active case finding as a strategy to end TB.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2024Review
- Health system barriers to the implementation of the national action plan to combat antimicrobial resistance in Vietnam: a scoping review.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2024Article
- Engaging community pharmacists in tuberculosis-directly observed treatment: a mixed-methods study.Primary health care research & development · 2023Article
- Development and Validation of the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Questionnaire for Community Pharmacy Personnel in Tuberculosis Case Detection, Drug Monitoring, and Education: A Study from Indonesia.Infection and drug resistance · 2023Article
- Mapping access to drug outlets in Vietnam: distribution of drug outlets and the sociodemographic characteristics of the communities they serve.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2023Article
- Use of standardised patients to assess tuberculosis case management by private pharmacies in Patna, India: A repeat cross-sectional study.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Dispensing of antibiotics for tuberculosis patients using standardized patient approach at community pharmacies: results from a cross-sectional study in Pakistan.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Increasing Consumption of Antibiotics during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Patient Health and Emerging Anti-Microbial Resistance.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Spatial analysis of human and livestock anthrax in Dien Bien province, Vietnam (2010-2019) and the significance of anthrax vaccination in livestock.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
- Article
- Inappropriate supply of antibiotics for common viral infections by community pharmacies in Vietnam: A standardised patient survey.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2022Article
- Engaging pharmacies in tuberculosis control: operational lessons from 19 case detection interventions in high-burden countries.BMJ global health · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
23 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOf the estimated 10 million people affected by (TB) each year, one-third are never diagnosed. Delayed case detection within the private healthcare sector has been identified as a particular problem in some settings, leading to considerable morbidity, mortality and community transmission. Using unannounced standardised patient (SP) visits to the pharmacies, we aimed to evaluate the performance of private pharmacies in the detection and treatment of TB.
methodsA cross-sectional study was undertaken at randomly selected private pharmacies within 40 districts of Vietnam. Trained actors implemented two standardised clinical scenarios of presumptive TB and presumptive multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). Outcomes were the proportion of SPs referred for medical assessment and the proportion inappropriately receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics. Logistic regression evaluated predictors of SPs' referral.
resultsIn total, 638 SP encounters were conducted, of which only 155 (24.3%) were referred for medical assessment; 511 (80·1%) were inappropriately offered antibiotics. A higher proportion of SPs were referred without having been given antibiotics if they had presumptive MDR-TB (68/320, 21.3%) versus presumptive TB (17/318, 5.3%; adjusted OR=4.8, 95% CI 2.9 to 7.8). Pharmacies offered antibiotics without a prescription to 89.9% of SPs with presumptive TB and 70.3% with presumptive MDR-TB, with no clear follow-up plan.
conclusionsFew SPs with presumptive TB were appropriately referred for medical assessment by private pharmacies. Interventions to improve appropriate TB referral within the private pharmacy sector are urgently required to reduce the number of undiagnosed TB cases in Vietnam and similar high-prevalence settings.
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