Systematic review of latent tuberculosis infection research to inform programmatic management in Ireland

The World Health Organisation (WHO) End Tuberculosis (TB) Strategy and the WHO Framework Towards Tuberculosis Elimination in Low Incidence Countries state that latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) screening and treatment in selected high-risk groups is a priority action to eliminate TB. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) advises that this should be done through high-quality programmatic management, which they describe as having six key components. The research aim was to systematically review the literature to identify what is known about the epidemiology of LTBI and the uptake and completion of LTBI screening and treatment in Ireland to inform the programmatic management of LTBI nationally. A systematic literature review was performed according to a review protocol and reported in adherence with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. Twenty-eight studies were eligible for inclusion and described LTBI screening or treatment performed in one of five contexts, pre-biologic or other immunosuppression screening, people living with HIV, TB case contacts, other vulnerable populations, or healthcare workers. The risk of bias across studies with regard to prevalence of LTBI was generally high. One study reported a complete cascade of LTBI care from screening initiation to treatment completion. This systematic review has described what published research there is on the epidemiology and cascade of LTBI care in Ireland and identified knowledge gaps. A strategy for addressing these knowledge gaps has been proposed.