Impact of active case-finding for tuberculosis on case-notifications in Blantyre, Malawi: A community-based cluster-randomised trial (SCALE).

ABSTRACT: Active case-finding (ACF) for tuberculosis can help find the "missing millions" with undiagnosed tuberculosis. In a cluster-randomised trial, we investigated impact of ACF on case-notifications in Blantyre, Malawi, where ACF has been intensively implemented following 2014 estimates of ~1,000 per 100,000 adults with undiagnosed TB. Following a pre-intervention prevalence survey (May 2019 to March 2020), constrained randomisation allocated neighbourhoods to either door-to-door ACF (sputum microscopy for reported cough >2 weeks) or standard-of-care (SOC). Implementation was interrupted by COVID-19. Cluster-level bacteriologically-confirmed case-notification rate (CNR) ratio within 91 days of ACF was our redefined primary outcome; comparison between arms used Poisson regression with random eff

SUBMITTER: Feasey HRA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10697577 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature