Content Status where content has been uploaded and published on LMS.
Each Designated Microscopic Center (DMC) needs to maintain a National TB Elimination Program TB (NTEP) Laboratory Register which collects information of all presumptive TB patients who undergo tests or confirmed patients who undergo follow-up tests.
Technical specifications for TB diagnosis specimen carriers are as follows:
Thermocol Box:
Gel Pack:
Chest radiography or X-ray (CXR) can be used as an effective triage test for those seeking care for respiratory complaints.
It is an effective triage tool in tuberculosis (TB) because:
The pooled sensitivity and specificity of screening tests in adults, using culture-confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) as the gold standard, are summarized in Table 1.
The Ni-kshay Online Portal under National Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination Program (NTEP) has a provision for generating TB treatment outcome reports which should be downloaded periodically to understand the TB treatment adherence and response to TB treatment provided to the patients.
Following are the steps to download and review the treatment outcome report from Ni-kshay.
Step 1: Open the Nikshay Reports page.
Step 2: Under Notification Reports, click Outcome Reports.
Nikshay is an integrated Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) platform adopted by the National Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination Programme (NTEP) for TB patient management and care.
The patient management workflow in Nikshay streamlines a series of activities required for TB patients from identification of presumptive TB cases to recording treatment outcomes. Nikshay uses in-built modules in the platform to perform these tasks. There are also different user logins that allow certain functions (see figure below).
The major duties and responsibilities of the Laboratory Technician at the Designated Microscopy Centre (DMC) are to:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment (TPT) among contacts exposed to Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) with Fluoroquinolone (FQ)-sensitive, or Isoniazid (H)-resistant with Rifampicin (R) sensitive DR-TB patients.
Points to be Considered Before TPT Initiation
The current TB treatment strategy is based on a patient-centred approach to treatment and alleviation of patients' suffering that has been restricted mostly to its physical aspects. However, difficulties faced by patients and families affected by life-threatening diseases span across physical, psychological, social and spiritual aspects. Therefore, a more holistic approach to patient treatment requires broadening to a patient-centric care approach with palliative care services.
Palliative care would be necessary for the care of:
The flow of patients from diagnosis to treatment initiation and follow-up till final treatment outcome submission for Multidrug-resistant (MDR)/ Rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) patients on a shorter oral Bedaquiline (Bdq)-containing regimen is depicted in the figure below.
Figure: Flow of MDR/RR-TB Patients on Shorter Oral Bdq-containing Regimen; Source: Guidelines for PMDT, India, 2021, p107.