What happens to migrant tuberculosis patients who are transferred out using a web-based system in China?

BACKGROUND: In China, internal migrants constitute one-fifth of tuberculosis (TB) patients registered for treatment in web-based TB information management system (TBIMS). Though China added a specific module in the web-based TBIMS in 2009, web-based transfer-out is not specifically recommended in the national guidelines. OBJECTIVE: In this country wide study among all registered migrant TB patients (2014–2015) that were transferred out using web-based TBIMS in China, to determine the i) timing of transfer-out in relation to period of treatment; ii) delay and attrition during transfer interval (between transfer-out and transfer-in); and iii) extent and risk factors for ‘not evaluated’ as the treatment outcome. METHODS: This was a cohort study involving review of web-based TBIMS data. Modified Poisson regression was used to build a predictive model for risk factors of ‘not evaluated’ as the treatment outcome. RESULTS: Among 7 284 patients, 5 900 (81.0%) were transferred out during the first two months after initiation of treatment or before treatment initiation and 7 088 (97.3%) patients had arrived at transfer-in unit. The median transfer interval was three (interquartile range: 0–14) days. Sixteen percent (1 176/7 284) patients had ‘not evaluated’ as their treatment outcome. ‘Not evaluated’ contributed to 66% of the unfavourable outcomes. Patients transferred from referral hospitals, migrated from out of prefecture, transferred out of prefecture, with sputum smear negative pulmonary TB, with TB pleurisy and with long delay between symptom onset and treatment initiation had significantly higher risk of ‘not evaluated’ as the outcome. CONCLUSION: Web-based transfer helped as the delay and attrition during the transfer interval was quite short and treatment outcomes of more than four-fifths of transferred out migrant TB patients were available with transfer-out BMU. Once strategies to address the independent predictors of ‘not evaluated’ treatment outcome are devised, China may consider mandatory use of web-based TBIMS for transferring out migrant TB patients.