ArticleBMC infectious diseases2023
Bidirectional screening and testing for TB and COVID-19 among outpatient department attendees: outcome of an initial intervention in Ghana.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dyslipidemia in Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients Attending Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipal Hospital: Pre- and Post-Anti-Tuberculosis Treatment.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Spatial distribution of paediatric tuberculosis and factors associated with adverse treatment outcomes in Ashanti Region, Ghana: a retrospective analysis.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Concurrent Tuberculosis and COVID-19 Testing from a Single Sputum Specimen for Enhanced Disease Detection.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis services in a rural area of Senegal.Le infezioni in medicina · 2025Article
- Scaling up tuberculosis case finding via private providers in Ghana: an impact evaluation using interrupted time series.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Economic burden and coping mechanisms by tuberculosis treatment supporters: a mixed method approach from Bono Region, Ghana.BMC health services research · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health threat in Ghana. The impact of COVID-19 resulted in a 15% decline of TB case notification in 2020 compared to 2019. To mitigate the impact on TB services, the Ghana National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP) introduced the bidirectional screening and testing for TB and COVID-19 in 2021.
objectiveTo evaluate the yield of bidirectional screening and testing for TB and COVID-19 among facility attendees in the Greater Accra region.
methodWe used secondary data obtained from the initial implementation stage of the bidirectional testing for TB and COVID-19 among COVID-19 and/or TB presumed cases in five health facilities in the Greater Accra Region from January to March 2021. To mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on TB services and accelerate TB case detection, the NTP of Ghana introduced bidirectional screening and testing for TB and COVID-19 in Greater Accra Region before scaling up at national level.
resultsA total of 208 presumed TB or COVID-19 cases were identified: 113 were tested for COVID-19 only, and 94 were tested for both TB and COVID-19, 1 was tested for TB only. Among presumed cases tested for COVID-19, 9.7% (95% CI, 5.6-13.7%) were tested positive. Whilst among the total presumed tested for TB, 13.7% (95% CI, 6.8-20.6%) were confirmed to have TB. Among the total 94 presumed cases tested for both TB and COVID-19, 11.7% (95% CI, 5.2-18.2%) were confirmed to have TB and 13.8% (95% CI, 6.9-20.8%) participants were COVID-19 positive and one participant (1.1%) had both COVID-19 and TB.
conclusionBidirectional screening and testing for TB and COVID-19 shows significant potential for improving overall case detection for the two diseases. The bidirectional screening and testing could be applicable to address a similar respiratory epidemic in the future that might have a masking effect on the response to TB disease.
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