TY - JOUR T1 - Evaluation of a tuberculosis control programme based on case-finding JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 42 IS - Suppl 57 SP - P2857 AU - Concepción Morales-García AU - Jorge Parra-Ruiz AU - José María Gómez-Vida AU - Abdelhak Amzouz-Amzouz AU - José Hernández-Quero Y1 - 2013/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P2857.abstract N2 - Background: The reduction in the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) may indicate TB control, however it could also reflect underdiagnosis or underreporting. In 1999, the Health District of South Granada (HDSG) initiated a TB control programme based on case-finding.The objective of this study was to define the characteristics of TB in the HDSG and the efficacy of the control programme.Methods: Prospective study of all cases of TB diagnosed in the HDSG during the period 2003 to 2010. The incidence of TB and the absolute and relative frequencies of the most relevant variables were calculated. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 19 software.Results: TB was diagnosed in 319 cases, of which 272 (85.2%) were pulmonary (PTB) cases. 96.3% of all PTB cases were culture-confirmed. The incidence of TB in the study period was 27.5/100.000 population. The incidence of PTB was 23.8/100.000 and of smear positive PTB was 9.3/100.000. Smear positive PTB was detected in 39.1% of cases. Chest x-ray showed cavitation in 21.3% of cases of PTB. Cavitation was present in 45.4% of smear positive PTB cases and in 4.9% of smear negative cases. Treatment success was achieved in 90% of smear positive PTB cases.Conclusions: Incidence of TB in HDSG is higher than that reported in Spain, but the percentage of smear positive PTB cases and those with cavitation were lower, indicating earlier diagnosis following the implementation of the TB control programme.The percentage of smear positive PTB cases out of the total number of culture-confirmed cases could be an indicator of underdiagnosis. A high percentage of smear positive PTB cases would indicate detection of advanced cases and later diagnosis indicating high rate of underdiagnosis of TB. ER -