American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Dec 2000
Multicenter StudyOutcomes of contact investigations of infectious tuberculosis patients.
The objective of this study was to describe outcomes of tuberculosis (TB) contact investigations, factors correlated with those outcomes, and current successes and ways to improve TB contact investigations. We abstracted clinic records of a representative U. S. urban sample of 1,080 pulmonary, sputum-smear(+) TB patients reported to CDC July 1996 through June 1997 and the cohort of their 6,225 close contacts. ⋯ Using directly observed treatment (DOT) increased the likelihood of treatment completion. We documented outcomes of contact investigation efforts by urban TB programs. We identified several successful practices, as well as suggestions for improvements, that will help TB programs target policies and procedures to enhance contact investigation effectiveness.