Assessment of tuberculosis contact tracing in the 17th health area in Alicante

Objective: To assess the tuberculosis (TB) contact investigations conducted in our Department and to analyze the delay in diagnosis and reporting of TB cases and the delay in starting the contacts investigations. Methods: We carried out a retrospective observational study of the reported tuberculosis index cases and their contacts. We analyzed the adequacy of management of contacts investigations and calculated the delay in diagnosis and reporting of TB cases in addition to the delay in the onset of contacts study. Results: The overall rate of tuberculosis found was 10.91 per 100,000 inhabitants during the total years of study. We identified 635 contacts of 128 tuberculosis cases. The median from total diagnostic delay was 45 days, from delay in the notification three days and from delay in the start of contact investigations 9,5 days for all TB cases. Among the assessed contacts were diagnosed eight new TB cases during contact investigations. In the 94.5% of studied contacts the management was adequate. Conclusion: The management of TB contacts was mostly adequate. The delay in diagnosis for tuberculosis cases was elevated. The delay in the notification of tuberculosis cases and the delay in the start of contacts investigations were found within normal limits.