Accelerating TB diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic
OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of COVID-19 on TB diagnosis in Singapore, and to identify any factors that could facilitate early detection of TB among persons screened.
DESIGN: To assess the impact of testing and diagnosis of the pandemic on TB, the number of TB-related tests from January 2018 to December 2020 were collected. We also conducted a retrospective case-control study of all adult patients admitted for COVID-19, TB or coinfection from 23 January to 31 May 2020.
RESULTS: Nationwide testing for TB from 2018 to 2020 increased by 24.2%. We analysed 253 adult inpatients, of whom 107 (42.3%) were diagnosed with COVID-19, 134 (53.0%) had TB, while 12 (4.7%) had co-infection. Patients with TB were more likely to have chest X-ray abnormalities than those with COVID-19 (89.9% vs. 76.0%; P < 0.01). Patients with TB were more likely to have prolonged cough vs. those with COVID-19 infection (28 vs. 5 days; P < 0.01).
CONCLUSION: Early screening for TB, even among patients with COVID-19, could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment, thereby breaking the chain of transmission.
Keywords: COVID-19; Singapore; epidemiology; prevention/control programme; tuberculosis
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Department of Infectious Diseases, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore 2: Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore 3: Department of Microbiology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore 4: Department of Infectious Diseases, National University Hospital, Singapore 5: National Tuberculosis Programme (STEP), National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Singapore 6: Department of Infectious Diseases, National University Hospital, Singapore, Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme, Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Institute for Health Innovation & Technology, National University of Singapore, Singapore 7: National Tuberculosis Programme (STEP), National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Singapore, Department of Infectious Diseases, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore
Publication date: July 1, 2022
The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD) is for clinical research and epidemiological studies on lung health, including articles on TB, TB-HIV and respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, asthma, COPD, child lung health and the hazards of tobacco and air pollution. Individuals and institutes can subscribe to the IJTLD online or in print – simply email us at [email protected] for details.
The IJTLD is dedicated to understanding lung disease and to the dissemination of knowledge leading to better lung health. To allow us to share scientific research as rapidly as possible, the IJTLD is fast-tracking the publication of certain articles as preprints prior to their publication. Read fast-track articles.
- Editorial Board
- Information for Authors
- Subscribe to this Title
- International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
- Public Health Action
- Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites
Receive new issue alert- Access Key
- Free content
- Partial Free content
- New content
- Open access content
- Partial Open access content
- Subscribed content
- Partial Subscribed content
- Free trial content