ArticleBMC geriatrics2026
Community-based chest X-ray screening versus symptom-based case presentation in the elderly: evidence from three consecutive years of data.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCommunity-based chest X-ray (CXR) screening has been widely performed to improve tuberculosis identification in elderly populations, but comparative evidence against mode of symptom-driven case finding remains scarce.
methodsWe conducted three annual rounds of mass CXR screening among individuals aged over 60 years in Lanxi City, China, from 2021 to 2023. Tuberculosis cases identified through CXR screening were compared with concurrent, symptom-driven case presentations via routine surveillance. Restricted cubic spline and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to examine factors associated with distinct detection pathways.
resultsAt the individual level, a total of 831 tuberculosis cases were identified through two modes. CXR mass screening detected more patients with less typical symptoms, while symptom-driven detection was more effective in females (aOR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.39-0.88), bacteriologically confirmed cases (aOR = 0.42, 95% CI 0.27-0.63), and those aged greater than 80 (aOR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.30-0.82). Age showed a nonlinear association with mass screening yield, with peak effectiveness between 60 and 66 years while no significance was found for BMI. In population-level analysis, CXR mass screening outperformed symptom-driven detection for case identification in the first round but declined and reversed by the third round. Subgroup analyses revealed potential benefits among individuals with diabetes or prior tuberculosis history, particularly within two years post-diagnosis or treatment.
conclusionsCommunity-based CXR screening could effectively detect incremental tuberculosis cases with atypical or mild symptoms. The young-old would benefit from mass CXR screening, while more accessible services were needed for the very elderly. Elderly individuals with diabetes or prior tuberculosis history should be prioritized, with intensified monitoring within two years after diagnosis or treatment completion.
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.