The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Detection of Tuberculosis in Armenia
The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Detection of Tuberculosis in Armenia作者机构：National Center of Pulmonology Abovyan Armenia Data Management and Monitoring Department National Center of Pulmonology Abovyan Armenia Medical Affairs of the National Center for Pulmonology Abovyan Armenia
出 版 物：《Journal of Tuberculosis Research》 (结核病研究（英文）)
年 卷 期：2022年第10卷第4期
页 面：199-204页
学科分类：1002[医学-临床医学] 100201[医学-内科学(含：心血管病、血液病、呼吸系病、消化系病、内分泌与代谢病、肾病、风湿病、传染病)] 10[医学]
主 题：Tuberculosis Covid-19 Pandemic Detection of Tuberculosis
摘 要：Background: One of the vulnerable components of Tuberculosis Care Programs affected by the Covid-19 pandemic was the detection of tuberculosis (TB). Based on this conviction, a study devoted to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the detection and diagnosis of tuberculosis was conducted in Armenia. Methods: This observational study has a retrospective descriptive research design based on the comparative calculation of the TB incidence rate for the historical pre-pandemic period (01-Mar-2019 to 29-Feb-2020) and during the Covid-19 pandemic period (01-Mar-2020 to 28-Feb-2021). Results: The data evaluation revealed that the number of active TB cases detected during the Covid-19 pandemic was lower by 37.6% compared with the pre-pandemic period (416 vs. 667). The significant reduction of the bacteriologically confirmed cases of pulmonary tuberculosis (28% drop) was most likely related to the decrease in the sputum diagnostic tests, as the number of patients who were tested by sputum microscopy during the pandemic was lower by 43.3% compared with the pre-pandemic period (2329 vs. 4110) and the number of patients tested by sputum GeneXpert test dropped by 23% during the Covid-19 pandemic (2291 vs. 2977). Conclusion: The comparative calculation of TB detection rate changes during the Covid-19 pandemic revealed a significant decrease in TB detection compared with the pre-pandemic period. The probable reasons for this decrease were the restrictions on visits to medical centers, limited access to diagnostic services, and undermined screening and contact tracing activities.
维普期刊数据库