Factors associated with tuberculosis treatment initiation among bacteriologically negative individuals evaluated for tuberculosis: an individual patient data meta-analysis.
Sun KimMelike Hazal CanTefera B AgizewAndrew F AuldMaria Elvira BalcellsStephanie BjerrumKeertan DhedaSusan E DormanAliasgar EsmailKatherine FieldingAlberto L Garcia-BasteiroColleen F HanrahanWakjira KebedeMikashmi KohliAnne F LuetkemeyerCarol MitaByron W P ReeveDenise Rossato SilvaSedona SweeneyGrant TheronAnete TrajmanAnna VassallJoshua L WarrenMarcel YotebiengTed CohenNicolas A MenziesPublished in: medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences (2024)
Multiple factors influenced decisions to initiate TB treatment despite negative test results. Clinicians were substantially less likely to treat in the absence of a positive test result when using more sensitive, PCR-based diagnostics.