The Benefits of Contact Tracing to Detect Pulmonary TB

Active assessment of household contacts of patients with tuberculosis led to a more than twofold increase in the rate of detection of TB disease.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of infectious disease–related deaths worldwide. Nonetheless, active surveillance for potential cases of TB is performed in only a few countries with high TB incidence, because high-quality evidence on the practice is lacking. A multinational team of investigators now reports on a cluster-randomized controlled trial performed in 70 health districts in Vietnam, comparing active household contact investigation of TB patients along with passive case finding to passive case finding alone to identify contact patients with TB disease.

Over a 33-month period, healthcare workers identified 10,964 index TB cases and 25,707 household contacts. The rate of identified TB cases among household contacts was significan…

Reviewing Author

Richard T. Ellison III, MD

Disclosures

Consult/Advisory BoardAcurx Pharmaceuticals, LLC;

Grant/Research SupportDoctors Company Foundation, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Richard T. Ellison III, MD

Disclosures

Consult/Advisory BoardAcurx Pharmaceuticals, LLC;

Grant/Research SupportDoctors Company Foundation, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

The Benefits of Contact Tracing to Detect Pulmonary TB

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Reviewing Author