Tuberculosis case detection among HIV positive persons in a hospital in Ethiopia
Tedla Mezemir Damte
Collaborative TB/HIV management is essential to prevent and treat TB among
HIV-positive TB patients, and to ensure that HIV-positive TB patients are
detected and treated appropriately.
This quantitative, descriptive, contextual study identified problems encountered
during the implementation of TB case detection among HIV-positive individuals in
one Ethiopian hospital. During December 2012, 300 checklists were completed
about HIV-positive patients’ TB/HIV collaborative management, as reflected in
their files.
Only 60.2% of HIV-positive patients, who should have received Isoniazid
preventive treatment (IPT), were placed on this treatment. X-rays and laboratory
examinations of sputum samples were not done according to the Ethiopian
guidelines. Most TB patients’ initial screening was done by nurses, not doctors,
and included only symptom screening without CD4 count considerations.
Managers and healthcare personnel should improve IPT, especially for those
with early HIV infection and timely effective treatment for those suffering from TB,
before complications arise
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