The burden of non-TB lung disease presenting to TB clinics in The Gambia: preliminary data in the Xpert® MTB/Rif era.
Jayasooriya, S;
Jobe, A;
Badjie, S;
Owolabi, O;
Rachow, A;
Sutherland, J;
Kampmann, B;
(2019)
The burden of non-TB lung disease presenting to TB clinics in The Gambia: preliminary data in the Xpert® MTB/Rif era.
PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION, 9 (4).
pp. 166-168.
ISSN 2220-8372
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5588/pha.19.0046
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In some low and middle-income countries, 10-20% of patients presenting with a persistent cough have tuberculosis (TB). Once TB is excluded, health service provision for alternative diagnoses is limited. We prospectively studied patients with two Xpert-negative sputum results presenting to a TB clinic in The Gambia. Of 239 patients, 108 did not have TB; 65/102 (6 were lost to follow-up) had alternative diagnoses, 24.6% of which were non-respiratory; 37/102 had no diagnosis, 27.0% of whom were HIV-1-positive; 37.8% had a history of TB and 24.3% smoked. We highlight the need for general health service integration with TB platforms and exploration of non-TB patients with chronic respiratory symptoms.
