Trend of tuberculosis case notification and treatment outcome in Lagos State, Nigeria: a 5-year retrospective study

This study assessed trends of tuberculosis (TB) case notification rate (CNR) and treatment outcomes between 2011 and 2015 in Lagos State, Nigeria.

A retrospective review of TB notification data to the Lagos State Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (LSTBLCP) between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2015 was conducted.

A total of 44 516 TB cases were notified during the study period, representing 9.4% of the national figure. The male:female ratio was 1.3:1. About 53%, 44.1% and 2.7% of patients were smear positive, smear negative and extrapulmonary TB cases, respectively. TB notification increased by 12.2% between 2011 and 2013 and subsequently declined by 7.2% in 2015 relative to 2013. The TB CNR declined from 82.9 per 100 000 in 2013 to 72.1 per 100 000 in 2015. However, directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) and microscopy site expansion increased from 0.3 to 0.64 per 25 000 population and from 0.16 to 0.4 per 50 000 population, respectively, from 2011 to 2015. Similarly, there was a slight increase in treatment success rate, from 80.1% in 2011 to 82% in 2015.

The CNR declined in Lagos State despite an increasing trend in DOTS and microscopy site expansions between 2013 and 2015. The LSTBLCPs need to re-engineer current strategies of active TB case findings in order to improve case notification in the state.