FAST tuberculosis transmission control strategy speeds the start of tuberculosis treatment at a general hospital in Lima, Peru

Tierney D.B.; Orvis E.; Nathavitharana R.R.; Hurwitz S.; Tintaya K.; Vargas D.; Segura P.; De La Gala S.; Lecca L.; Mitnick C.D.; Nardell E.A. · Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (2022) · DOI: 10.1017/ice.2021.422

Resumen

Objective: To evaluate the effect of the FAST (Find cases Actively, Separate safely, Treat effectively) strategy on time to tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment for patients at a general hospital in a tuberculosis-endemic setting. Design: Prospective cohort study with historical controls. Participants: Patients diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis during hospitalization at Hospital Nacional Hipolito Unanue in Lima, Peru. Methods: The FAST strategy was implemented from July 24, 2016, to December 31, 2019. We compared the proportion of patients with drug susceptibility testing and tuberculosis treatment during FAST to the 6-month period prior to FAST. Times to diagnosis and tuberculosis treatment were also compared using Kaplan-Meier plots and Cox regressions. Results: We analyzed 75 patients diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis through FAST. The historical cohort comprised 76 patients. More FAST patients underwent drug susceptibility testing (98.7% vs 57.8%; OR, 53.8; P <.001), which led to the diagnosis of drug-resistant tuberculosis in 18 (24.3%) of 74 of the prospective cohort and 4 (9%) of 44 of the historical cohort (OR, 3.2; P =.03). Overall, 55 FAST patients (73.3%) started tuberculosis treatment during hospitalization compared to 39 (51.3%) controls (OR, 2.44; P =.012). FAST reduced the time from hospital admission to the start of TB treatment (HR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.39-3.21; P <.001). Conclusions: Using the FAST strategy improved the diagnosis of drug-resistant tuberculosis and the likelihood and speed of starting treatment among patients with pulmonary tuberculosis at a general hospital in a tuberculosis-endemic setting. In these settings, the FAST strategy should be considered to reduce tuberculosis transmission while simultaneously improving the quality of care. ©