Background
Tuberculosis (TB) is a common infectious disease, which may be lethal. As primary
healthcare (PHC) providers are the patient’s primary contact with medical facilities,
the initial suspicious of TB happens at the PHC level.
Aim
To assess PHC facilities participating in national TB control program in El Behaira
governorate.
Patients and methods
This was an observational and retrospective clinical cohort study carried out at El
Behaira governorate. A questionnaire formed of six parameters was applied to
assess the PHC administration, in addition to data collection from registered TB
cases.
Results
The considered governorate included 10 health areas with 60 primary care units,
with only 207 patients with TB being registrated. All units lacked laboratory
equipment and patient follow-up. Essential information of the physicians
regarding TB ranged from 18 to 63%. Recording of cases was higher in urban
areas (88.9%). Of all patients with TB, TB was higher in males (59.4%) and the age
between 25 and 40 years (41.5%). Approximately two-third of the cases were
pulmonary TB, whereas 1/3 were extra-pulmonary. Moreover, 67.6% of pulmonary
cases were smear positive, and 14.8% were smear negative.
Conclusion
PHC units in El Behaira governorate are not well equipped to face the significant
problem of TB |
