Development of Automatic Reporting for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Critical Values

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant public health concern that both the World Health Organization (WHO) and Thailand have continuously prioritized in their efforts to expedite the elimination of the disease. Globally, new cases of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) account for approximately 3.50% (95% CI 2.20-3.50%), with 20.50% (95% CI 13.60-27.50%) of previously treated patients developing MDR-TB. Moreover, about 9.00% (95% CI 6.50-11.50%) of MDR-TB cases progress to extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). Therefore, establishing an accurate, complete, and timely laboratory reporting system can improve the efficiency of public health responses to TB, particularly for XDR-TB, which is a dangerous communicable disease and must be reported to the Department of Disease Control within three hours, followed by an investigation within 12 hours. The objective of this study was to develop an automated critical value reporting system for drug-resistant TB by using the Line application to send automatic alerts directly to the chief of the laboratory when drug-resistant TB was found on the ODPC8 Laboratory program (D8LAB). The study's Development of an automatic reporting model for drug-resistant tuberculosis critical values using the D8LAB information program of the ODPC8 Udon Thani laboratory by adding a notification system via the LINE application to specific target individuals to ensure completeness, accuracy, and timeliness. The results were evaluated in two aspects; 1) evaluation of system alerts in three areas, including the completeness of alert reporting (100%), the accuracy of alert information (100%), and timeliness of reporting (≤ 10 minutes) (100%); and 2) evaluation of user satisfaction in five areas, including the completeness of alert information (highest satisfaction, 𝑥̅ = 4.80, S.D. = 0.42), the accuracy of alerts (highest satisfaction, 𝑥̅ = 4.90, S.D. = 0.32), timeliness of alerts (highest satisfaction, 𝑥̅ = 4.70, S.D. = 0.48), ease of use (highest satisfaction, 𝑥̅ = 4.70, S.D. = 0.48), and overall satisfaction (highest satisfaction, 𝑥̅ = 4.90, S.D. = 0.32). The overall average satisfaction score was in the highest category (𝑥̅ = 4.80, S.D. = 0.40). In conclusion, the development of this automated lab alert reporting system for drug-resistant TB significantly enhances the efficiency of laboratory TB surveillance systems.