Point-Of-Care Ultrasound for Tuberculosis Formative Prospective case-control study with nested cohort in Bolivia: characterising associations between disease severity and the socioeconomic consequences of TB
Tuberculosis
This is a 2:1 case-control study, in which adults recently diagnosed with TB attending a health care facility will be invited to participate (cases), as well as adults randomly selected from the community (controls). Baseline Visit: After obtaining informed consent, participants will undergo interviews to assess socioeconomic status, and a physical examination, including measurements such as weight and height, will be conducted together with a point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). Clinical data will be collected from participants´ records. Follow-up Visits: Follow-up visits will be conducted only for participants diagnosed with TB (cases) at 2 and 6 months post-treatment, with repeat interviews to assess socioeconomic status, physical examination and measures, data collection from medical records and POCUS. The study will focus on using POCUS to better understand TB disease severity and its socioeconomic impact. POCUS images will also be used to train an AI model that could improve TB screening and triage in the future.
For participants diagnosed with TB (cases): 1. Aged ≥18 years old 2. Receiving or will receive treatment for pulmonary TB at the selected health centre For community controls: 1. Aged ≥18 years old 2. Resides in the selected community
For participants diagnosed with TB (cases): 1. Started treatment >2 weeks for the current TB episode 2. Refusing to provide informed consent/assent to participate in the study For community controls: 1. Received TB treatment <1 year ago 2. Refusing to provide informed consent/assent to participate in the study 3. Serious illness resulting in unstable condition or life-threatening participation in the study