Remembering the basics: interventions to improve sputum collection for tuberculosis diagnosis

Abstract

It seems likely that the incremental improvement in performance associated with these interventions would have a similar effect on the performance of molecular assays. This study reminds us not to neglect potentially simple and cost-effective interventions, which have been shown to improve diagnostic performance. New, highly sensitive diagnostics, particularly those suitable for true point-of-care use in low-resource settings, are urgently needed. However, even in the absence of such tools, substantial gains can be made by improving attention towards the basics, such as sample collection, in our efforts to close the gaps in the pathway to care for patients with tuberculosis.

Development and validity of an educational folder for pulmonary tuberculosis sputum collection

“…The use of simple strategies that can be carried out in services daily increases the performance of these tests. In this context, the standardization of guidelines with their availability before sputum collection proves to be effective in increasing the performance of smear microscopy when compared to standard care ( 3 ) .…”

Desenvolvimento e validação de um folder educativo para coleta de escarro da tuberculose pulmonar

“…O uso de estratégias simples que possam ser realizadas no cotidiano dos serviços aumenta o desempenho desses testes. Nesse contexto, a padronização das orientações com a sua disponibilização antes da coleta de escarro se mostra efetiva em aumentar o desempenho da baciloscopia, quando comparada ao atendimento padrão (3) .…”