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Tuberculosis
TB is the most common life threatening opportunistic infection in people living with HIV/AIDS and remains a leading cause of death including those receiving antiretroviral treatment. High TB case rates in sub-Saharan Africa have been largely attributed to the HIV epidemic. Proper attention to TB within HIV care is extremely important and yet has been a persistent challenge for HIV programs throughout Tanzania and indeed the region. Despite this interplay between HIV and TB, the treatment programs have remained largely separate. There is a need to try new approaches to integrate HIV and TB care properly, and to closely monitor the treatment of TB within HIV care, and vice versa.
D-tree International is working to develop a Tuberculosis module to extend our current program using smart phones to assist heath workers at HIV care and treatment centers in Tanzania. The new module adds to the guidelines by leading health workers through the Tanzanian national algorithm for evaluation of TB among HIV-infected persons. The module can be used once a patient is suspected for TB, based on standardized screening questions about coughing, sweating, fevers, etc. These questions will be added to the HIV care protocol to trigger referral to TB care.
The e-TB module can help troubleshoot for the many cases in which things don’t go as planned. For example if the patient is told to come back the day after their first smear, but came back after 20 days, e-TB can advise whether to repeat the first smear or just get the 2nd. Or if the client didn’t get an X-ray because of equipment failure, travel costs, etc, the system can prompt the user to decide whether to try to proceed without the X-Ray or send the client back for the X-ray.
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