Sputum and tongue swab molecular testing for the in-home diagnosis of tuberculosis in unselected household contacts: a cost and cost-effectiveness analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Delayed and missed diagnosis are a persistent barrier to tuberculosis control, partly driven by limitations associated with sputum collection and an unmet need for decentralized testing. Household contact investigation with point-of-care testing of non-invasive specimens like tongue swabs are hitherto undescribed and may be a cost-effective solution to enable community-based active case finding.

Methods

In-home, molecular point-of-care testing was conducted using sputum and tongue specimens collected from all household contacts of confirmed tuberculosis cases. A health economic assessment was executed to estimate and compare the cost and cost-effectiveness of different in-home, point-of-care testing strategies. Incremental cost effectiveness ratios of strategies u

SUBMITTER: Bezuidenhout C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11527052 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature