Evaluation of tuberculosis contact investigations in Japan

SETTING: Although monitoring and evaluation using standardised indicators is an important aspect of tuberculosis (TB) contact investigation, no attempts have been made to systematically evaluate contact investigations in Japan.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate TB contact investigations conducted in public heal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease 2017-02, Vol.21 (2), p.188-195
Main Authors: Izumi, K., Ohkado, A., Uchimura, K., Kawatsu, L., Suenaga, M., Urakawa, M., Kato, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Child
Child, Preschool
Contact Tracing - methods
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Health Centre
Humans
Infant
Interferon-Gamma
Interferon-gamma Release Tests
Japan
Latent Tuberculosis - diagnosis
Latent Tuberculous Infection
Male
Middle Aged
Mycobacterium
Public Health
Tuberculin Test - methods
Tuberculosis - diagnosis
Young Adult
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Summary:SETTING: Although monitoring and evaluation using standardised indicators is an important aspect of tuberculosis (TB) contact investigation, no attempts have been made to systematically evaluate contact investigations in Japan.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate TB contact investigations conducted in public health centres (PHCs) by estimating the scores of selected indicators.DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2012 to estimate six selected indicator scores for contact tracing, contact evaluation and contact treatment at 11 PHCs using the TB registry and relevant contact investigation records of all forms of newly notified active TB cases. Indicator scores were compared across PHCs using median and interquartile range (IQR).RESULTS: A total of 2527 contacts of 313 index TB cases were identified; of these, 1874 were evaluated using the tuberculin skin test (TST) or interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs). Of 187 contacts who were TST/IGRA-positive, 15 were diagnosed with active TB. Consistently higher medians and lower IQRs were obtained for indicators of contact tracing and contact evaluation than those of contact treatment.CONCLUSION: Our study is the first to evaluate the performance of TB contact investigations in Japan using standardised indicators; the study indicated performance gaps, especially in the treatment for latent tuberculous infection among contacts.
ISSN:1027-3719
1815-7920
DOI:10.5588/ijtld.16.0508