Improving Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy Uptake: A Cluster-randomized Trial of Symptom-based Versus Tuberculin Skin Test-based Screening of Household Tuberculosis Contacts Less Than 5 Years of Age
Nicole Salazar-Austin, Silvia Cohn, Grace Link Barnes, Molefi Tladi, Katlego Motlhaoleng, Catharina Swanepoel, Zarina Motala, Ebrahim Variava, Neil Martinson, Richard E Chaisson, Nicole Salazar-Austin, Silvia Cohn, Grace Link Barnes, Molefi Tladi, Katlego Motlhaoleng, Catharina Swanepoel, Zarina Motala, Ebrahim Variava, Neil Martinson, Richard E Chaisson
Abstract
Background: Tuberculosis preventive therapy (TPT) is highly effective at preventing tuberculosis disease in household child contacts (<5 years), but is poorly implemented worldwide. In 2006, the World Health Organization recommended symptom-based screening as a replacement for tuberculin skin testing (TST) to simplify contact evaluation and improve implementation. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of this recommendation.
Methods: We conducted a pragmatic, cluster-randomized trial to determine whether contact evaluation using symptom screening improved the proportion of identified child contacts who initiated TPT, compared to TST-based screening, in Matlosana, South Africa. We randomized 16 clinics to either symptom-based or TST-based contact evaluations. Outcome data were abstracted from customized child contact management files.
Results: Contact tracing identified 550 and 467 child contacts in the symptom and TST arms, respectively (0.39 vs 0.32 per case, respectively; P = .27). There was no significant difference by arm in the adjusted proportion of identified child contacts who were screened (52% in symptom arm vs 60% in TST arm; P = .39). The adjusted proportion of identified child contacts who initiated TPT or tuberculosis treatment was 51.5% in the symptom clinics and 57.1% in the TST clinics (difference -5.6%, 95% confidence interval -23.7 to 12.6; P = .52). Based on the district's historic average of 0.7 child contacts per index case, 14% and 15% of child contacts completed 6 months of TPT in the symptom and TST arms, respectively (P = .89).
Conclusions: Symptom-based screening did not improve the proportion of identified child contacts evaluated or initiated on TPT, compared to TST-based screening. Further research is needed to identify bottlenecks and evaluate interventions to ensure all child contacts receive TPT.
Clinical trials registration: NCT03074799.
Keywords: pediatric; symptom-screening; tuberculin skin test; tuberculosis; tuberculosis preventive therapy.
© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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Source: PubMed