Evaluating documentation of follow-up laboratory testing in TB treatment monitoring in the Eastern Region of Ghana: a consistency analysis of three facility registers
BMC Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12879-026-13804-7
- PMID
- 42298440
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W7164807092
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The study highlights gaps in register-based documentation of WHO-recommended follow-up testing for TB treatment monitoring in Ghana, pointing to potential priorities for strengthening recording practices and integrated reporting within TB control programmes.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study examines how follow-up laboratory testing for tuberculosis treatment monitoring is documented across facility registers in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
Study design
A retrospective record-linkage consistency analysis compared matched entries across three TB registers from five districts, supplemented by logistic regression to identify factors associated with documentation of follow-up testing.
Population and setting
Bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB cases recorded between January 2016 and December 2017 across five districts in the Eastern Region of Ghana, with 773 cases successfully matched across registers (mean age 42.6 years).
Main findings
A majority of cases in the district register lacked documented follow-up test results at the 2- or 3-month time point (62.9%, 95% CI: 59.4-66.2). Logistic regression indicated that documentation of follow-up testing was less common among several adult age groups compared with children aged 0-14 years. Cross-register agreement between the laboratory and district TB registers was assessed.
Public-health relevance
The study highlights gaps in register-based documentation of WHO-recommended follow-up testing for TB treatment monitoring in Ghana, pointing to potential priorities for strengthening recording practices and integrated reporting within TB control programmes.
Important limitations
The authors note that findings reflect documentation in routine registers and should be interpreted as a documentation gap rather than confirmed absence of testing. No further explicit limitations are stated in the supplied abstract; this summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract/metadata and requires the original paper for decision-grade interpretation.
GIDS interpretation
From a discoverability standpoint, the paper is indexed under tuberculosis and treatment topics with a Ghana country link, situating it within TB programme documentation research; the abstract does not connect the findings to a live surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 7 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.