Clinical and Economic Aspects of Tuberculosis Detection During Mass Fluorographic Examinations of the Population

• Published in: Journal of radiology and nuclear medicine
• Main Authors: Yu. M. Markelov, L. V. Shchegоleva
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: Luchevaya Diagnostika, LLC 2021
• Subjects: tuberculosis; fluorographic examinations; clinical and economic efficiency; Medical physics. Medical radiology. Nuclear medicine; R895-920; Republic of Karelia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.20862/0042-4676-2021-102-3-148-154; https://doaj.org/article/8e199f5a13cc44cebf30b1fe113d2347

Objective: to study the clinical and economic efficiency of mass fluorographic examinations of the population for tuberculosis (TB).Subjects and methods. The study used the data of fluorographic examinations for TB among 2,632,169 people and in its risk groups (n = 44,597) in the Republic of Karelia in 2008–2018.Results. It was found that the increased efficiency of detection of TB could not reduce its one-year mortality in firstly identified patients. The average cost of detecting one TB case during mass examinations was more than 500,000 rubles for this period.Conclusion. Mass fluorographic examinations of the population cannot reduce TB mortality rates and are extremely expensive. To lower the mortality rate and to improve the detection of TB, there is a need for screening high-risk groups for this disease at least once every 6 months.