[Underreporting and exhaustiveness of tuberculosis surveillance systems in a region of Peru: a capture-recapture...

This study sought to determine the underreporting of tuberculosis (TB) cases in the Cajamarca Region, Peru in 2017 and 2018 through the capture-recapture method and to estimate the TB incidence rate using this method, assess the exhaustiveness of surveillance systems, and describe the epidemiological characteristics of TB in this period. A descriptive, retrospective study was performed in the Cajamarca Region; the surveillance systems were analyzed were the TB Management Information System (SIGTB) and the TB Epidemiological System (SIEPI-TB). Based on the number of cases recorded in each system, the capture-recapture method was applied to obtain an estimation of real cases, validating the data with a log-linear model in the R statistical environment. The largest underreporting rates in the systems were 40.7% in 2017 and 25.6% in 2018; the estimated incidence rates in both years were higher than those reported by the official systems, the most exhaustive surveillance system was SIEPI-TB. The results indicate the existence of worrisome underreporting and the need to monitor the TB surveillance systems.