Referral and tracing of suspected pulmonary tuberculosis patients reported through network direct reporting system in Liaoning

Objective To understand the referral and tracing of suspected pulmonary tuberculosis(TB) patients reported by non-TB institutions of Liaoning province through internet from 2009 to 2014,and provide evidence to improve the referral of TB patients. Methods The referral and tracing data of suspected TB patients reported in Liaoning province during this period were collected for trend 2 test. Results From 2009 to 2014,the referral rate of suspected TB patients reported was 81.75%,the successful referral rate was 34.72%. The tracing rate was 97.97%, and the successful tracing rate was 91.59%. The overall successful rate was 95.00%. The overall successful rate(2=283.399,P0.001),the tracing rate(2=748.166,P0.001),the successful tracing rate(2=177.434,P0.001), the overall successful rate (2=112.444,P0.001) showed upward trends. The detection rate of active pulmonary TB among patients with successful referral showed a downward trend(2=312.607,P0.001), but the exclusion rate of pulmonary TB showed an upward trend(2=353.650,P0.001). Conclusion The comprehensive intervention for referral and tracing of TB cases could improve the overall successful level. Meanwhile, it is necessary to strengthen the management of hospitalization and discharge in general hospital and designated TB hospital to improve the tracing of TB patients.