Completeness and consistency in recording information in the tuberculosis case register, Cambodia, China and Viet Nam.

SETTING: Tuberculosis (TB) case registers in Cambodia, two provinces in China and in Viet Nam.

 

OBJECTIVE: To determine completeness and consistency of information for quarterly reports on case finding and treatment outcome.

 

METHODS: A representative sample of TB case registers was selected in Cambodia, in two provinces in China and in Viet Nam. Quarterly reports were reproduced from double-entered, validated data to determine completeness and consistency.

 

RESULTS: The dataset comprised 37 635 patient records in 2 calendar years. Only 0.2%, 3.6% and 1.1% of cases, respectively, in Cambodia, the two China provinces, and Viet Nam did not allow classification for the quarterly report on case finding. If the treatment outcome was reported as cured, it was correct in 99.9%, 85.7%, and 98.5% of the respective three jurisdictions: errors were mostly due to misclassification of completion as cure. Under-reporting of failures was more frequent than over-reporting in Cambodia and Viet Nam, while in the two provinces in China 84% of reported failures did not actually meet the bacteriological criterion.

 

CONCLUSIONS: This evaluation demonstrates that recording essential information is exemplary in all three countries. It will be essential to carefully supervise the ability of staff to correctly define TB treatment outcome results in all three countries.