Did “Screeners” Increase Pediatric Tuberculosis Case Notification in Sindh, Pakistan?

Abstract

To identify missing childhood Tuberculosis (TB) cases, “screeners” (hospital-based health workers trained to screen accompanying contacts of TB patients for symptoms) were introduced in eight tertiary care hospitals of Sindh, Pakistan in 2013. There was a 55% increase in childhood TB notifications in 2014 compared to 2012 in facilities with screeners (n = 8) compared to 40% increase in facilities without screeners (n = 22). This apparent association disappeared when stratified by presence of “trained pediatrician” whose introduction was associated with a massive increase in notifications while transfer was associated with a marked decrease. In conclusion, screeners were not associated with increase in pediatric TB case notifications.