Are all patients diagnosed with tuberculosis in Indian medical colleges referred to the RNTCP?
To assess the proportion of tuberculosis (TB) patients diagnosed in three medical colleges in the states of West Bengal and Meghalaya who benefited from the services provided under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), a line list of patients with reports of investigations  suggesting probable or confirmed TB was prepared from the records of the pathology, radiology and microbiology departments. This was compared with another line list prepared using RNTCP records. Only 150 (36%) of 420 probable or confirmed TB patients were referred to the RNTCP services. This  suggests a need for more intensive supervision and training of medical college faculty.
World Health Organization RNTCP Technical Assistance Project, Delhi, India. ahmedq@rntcp.org
T A
TA
Quazi
S
S
Sarkar
G
G
Borgohain
A
A
Sreenivas
A D
AD
Harries
S
S
Srinath
K
K
Khan
B
B
Bishnu
S
S
Tapadar
A C
AC
Phukan
A
A
Kabir
V
V
Chaddha
D
D
Paul
P
P
Dewan
D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008498:Medical Record Linkage; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000592:standards*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000592:standards*; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy