Impact of a computer system as a triage tool in the management of pulmonary tuberculosis in a HIV reference center in Brazil

BACKGROUND: The Neural Clinical Score for tuberculosis (NCS-TB) is a computer system developed to improve the triage of presumed pulmonary TB (pPTB). METHODS: A study was performed with cohorts of pPTB patients cared for at a reference hospital in Northeast Brazil. RESULTS: The NCS-TB sensitivity was 76.5% for TB diagnosis, which shortened the time from triage to smear microscopy results (3.3 to 2.5 days; p<0.001) and therapy initiation (6.7 to 4.1 days; p=0.045). CONCLUSIONS: Although the NCS-TB was not suitable as a screening tool, it was able to optimize laboratory diagnosis and shorten the time to treatment initiation.