Organization of a quality control system for information during monitoring of tuberculosis infection foci

Abstract

For the successful operation of the tuberculosis infection foci monitoring system implemented in the city of Moscow since 2021, a quality assessment and control system was developed and implemented, which is a methodology that includes internal and external information control, separate quality control for household and ‘manufactory’ (not household) TB foci, and the functionality of joint assessment of the data from the «TB Foci» registry with information on indicator patients who created foci from other registries of the city’s tuberculosis monitoring system.
The implementation of this system significantly improved the quality of data in the «TB Foci» registry, which is a key element in the successful operation of the monitoring system. As a result of the implementation of the quality control system, in 2023–2024 the number of household TB foci, information about which in the register was recognized as problematic, decreased from 326 to 115; the number of cases of lack of information on an «manufactory» TB foci decreased from 232 to 172; the number of suspected TB foci that were taken under monitoring control increased from 161 to 206; the proportion of newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients registered during the year, in whom TB foci were identified, increased from 69.6 to 72.6% (p < 0.05), and the same proportion of newly diagnosed patients from the permanent population – from 85.9 to 89.8% (p = 0.016). One of the indirect results of the introduction of this system was that, with an overall decrease in the number of patients, district TB doctors registered and checked 146 more addresses (TB foci) in 2024 than in the previous year (3,559 addresses).
An analysis of the quality control of primary documentation showed that it is critically important for effective monitoring of tuberculosis infection. Periodic monitoring compatible with methodological support provided feedback for rapid problem solving and included training for employees in record keeping.