Mahler Beatrice, Băiceanu Dragoș, Stoichiță Alexandru, Dendrino Dragoș, Mihai Mihaela, Ciolan Gina, Ibraim Elmira, Munteanu Ioana, Popa Cristina, Burecu Mădălina, Rusu Paula, Cioacată Andreea, Moșteanu Ioana Mădălina, Dragomir Antonela
Pneumology II Department, Faculty of Medicine, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
Pneumology Clinic, "Marius Nasta" Institute of Pneumology, Bucharest, Romania.
Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 2024 May 6;17:1115-1125. doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S458722. eCollection 2024.
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health challenge, requiring enhanced active case finding (ACF) through screening strategies. This study assesses the effectiveness of such an approach in locating TB cases among vulnerable groups, such as homeless persons, injecting drug users, those detained in prison, and people living in rural areas.
The study focuses on socio-economic characteristics and TB detection rates across Romanian counties using modern techniques including computer-aided detection of lesions on chest X-ray and GeneXpert tests.
The results highlight the disproportionate burden of TB in vulnerable groups, by revealing significant differences in TB detection rates between regions. Notably, the TB detection rates among these vulnerable groups (250.85 per 100,000 population) are five times higher than the national incidence rate (46.1).
These findings underscore the imperative integration of ACF into National TB Program to provide customized and efficient solutions for diverse vulnerable groups, thereby informing crucial public health initiatives and interventions.
结核病仍然是一项全球性的卫生挑战，需要通过筛查策略加强主动病例发现（ACF）。本研究评估了这种方法在弱势群体（如无家可归者、注射吸毒者、被监禁人员和农村居民）中发现结核病病例的有效性。
该研究利用包括计算机辅助检测胸部X光片病变和GeneXpert检测在内的现代技术，重点关注罗马尼亚各县的社会经济特征和结核病检测率。
结果通过揭示各地区结核病检测率的显著差异，突出了弱势群体中结核病负担的不均衡。值得注意的是，这些弱势群体中的结核病检测率（每10万人250.85例）比全国发病率（46.1）高出五倍。
这些发现强调了将主动病例发现纳入国家结核病规划的必要性，以便为不同的弱势群体提供定制化和高效的解决方案，从而为关键的公共卫生举措和干预措施提供依据。
