Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI) Knowledge and Practice of Physicians in Lagos

Abstract

Background: Nigeria has the highest incidence of both drug-susceptible and MDR-TB in Africa and is among the 30 high TB burden countries in the world. While TB remains an important public health issue with a programmatic approach to its treatment, this appears to be towards the active form of the disease while those with LTBI, who are likely to progress remain within the community without much attention. This group is frequently seen by doctors in the community for other ailments. It is therefore of immense importance to assess the knowledge and practices of these doctors regarding the management of patients with LTBI. This will be shifting focus to utilizing one of the core components of the WHO End TB strategy, which is prevention of TB disease by treatment of LTBI.

Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study of 206 doctors practicing in Lagos State between March and July 2021. This was an online survey.

Results: Majority of the participants, 162 (78.9%) had good overall knowledge of LTBI and general TB epidemiology. Only 26 (12.6%) of the participants routinely screen at-risk patient groups for LTBI in their routine practice.

Conclusion: This study showed a defect in the screening of at-risk individuals with propensity for TB reactivation by their attending physicians. This gap will lead to reduction in detection and treatment of LTBI by doctors in Lagos State. There is need for more capacity building and engagement of doctors on LTBI detection and treatment to key into
the WHO strategy to end TB.