title: Completeness and accuracy of electronic recording of paediatric drug-resistant tuberculosis in Cape Town, South Africa.
abstract: METHODS
  Cape Town, South Africa.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the completeness and accuracy of electronic recording of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort study. All children aged <15 years treated for DR-TB during 2012 were included, with clinical data collected from routine health services. Matching was performed between clinical data and an extracted data set from an electronic register for DR-TB (EDR.web), and data sources were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-seven children were identified clinically, of whom only 49 (64%) were found in EDR.web. Most data in EDR.web were complete and accurate, but there were some internal inconsistencies for confirmed TB. Only 4.4% of all EDR.web entries were children.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Only two thirds of children clinically treated for DR-TB were recorded in the electronic reporting system, suggesting under-reporting. We also found a lower than expected prevalence of childhood DR-TB, probably suggesting both under-diagnosis and under-recording of DR-TB in children. Clinicians at facility level should be able to access the electronic reporting system, and data transfer between clinical paper-based and electronic sources should be simplified. Cross-linking between electronic registers for drug-susceptible and DR-TB or consolidation of registers could improve the accuracy of recording. Improved recording and reporting of DR-TB in children is needed.
authors.affiliation: Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa.
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa ; Tygerberg Children's Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Schaaf
authors.affiliation: Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: du Preez
authors.affiliation: Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa ; Department of Paediatrics, Imperial College, London, UK.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Seddon
authors.affiliation: Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Garcia-Prats
authors.affiliation: Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zimri
authors.affiliation: Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dunbar
authors.affiliation: Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Hesseling
keywords: TB; children; drug resistance; registration; surveillance