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Published on: August 11, 2008
Completeness and timeliness of tuberculosis case reporting. A multistate study
A B Curtis1, E McCray, M McKenna
1Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, National Center for STD, HIV, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. acurtis@cdc.gov
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
|February 13, 2001
Summary
Completeness of tuberculosis (TB) case reporting was high, with few unreported cases found. However, the timeliness of TB case reporting to health authorities was often poor, with significant delays noted across multiple states.
Area of Science:
- Public Health Surveillance
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Effective tuberculosis (TB) control relies on prompt case identification and reporting to public health authorities.
- Accurate reporting ensures timely contact assessment, treatment, and identification of secondary TB cases.
- This study evaluated the completeness and timeliness of TB case reporting in the US during 1993-1994.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the completeness of tuberculosis case reporting across multiple states.
- To evaluate the timeliness of tuberculosis case reporting to public health departments.
- To identify factors influencing delayed TB case reporting.
Main Methods:
- A multistate review of secondary data sources including laboratory records, death certificates, and hospital/pharmacy databases was conducted.
- Completeness was determined by comparing reported cases with those identified through secondary sources.
- Timeliness was measured by the number of days between TB diagnosis and reporting to health authorities, with >7 days considered delayed.
Main Results:
- Only 14 (0.5%) of 2711 identified TB cases were previously unreported to public health authorities.
- Laboratory records yielded the most unreported cases (13 of 14).
- Reporting timeliness varied significantly, with median reporting times ranging from 7 to 38 days and delayed reporting rates from 5% to 53% across sites. Factors like infectiousness and provider type influenced delays.
Conclusions:
- Review of secondary data sources identified minimal unreported tuberculosis cases.
- Significant delays in reporting identified tuberculosis cases to public health authorities were prevalent.
- Improving reporting timeliness is crucial for effective TB control and public health surveillance.
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