Multicenter screening of diabetic patients for detecting new cases of tuberculosis: an approach to intensify the case detection rate of tuberculosis in developing countries with high prevalence of diabetes

INTRODUCTION: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem in most of developing countries. Meanwhile, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is also increasing rapidly. OBJECTIVES: To describe the feasibility of implementing screening test for tuberculosis among diabetic patients and identifying factors associated with high detection rate. METHODS: Study Design: Multi-center cross-sectional study. This study was implemented in the governmental healthcare settings. To diagnose TB among diabetics, we used a symptom-based questionnaire that included the symptoms of suspected TB according to the guidelines of National Tuberculosis Program in Egypt. RESULTS: Among 4283 adult diabetics, 14 TB cases were diagnosed; 9 known TB cases and 5 newly detected cases. The number needed to detect one new case of TB was 855. Male diabetics and who those suffered from liver disease experienced a significantly higher prevalence of TB and a higher detection rate of new active cases. CONCLUSIONS: Screening for TB among diabetics in routine governmental healthcare services was successfully implemented. Screening DM patients in countries with a high prevalence of DM will reveal a significant number of active TB cases, which will in turn improve the case detection rate of TB.