Clinical and economic aspects of tuberculosis detection during mass fluorographic examinations of the population
Objective: to study the clinical and economic efficiency of mass fluorographic examinations of the population for tuberculosis (TB). Subjects and methods. The study used the data of fluorographic examinations for TB among 2,632,169 people and in its risk groups (n = 44,597) in the Republic of Karelia in 2008-2018. Results. It was found that the increased efficiency of detection of TB could not reduce its one-year mortality in firstly identified patients. The average cost of detecting one TB case during mass examinations was more than 500,000 rubles for this period. Conclusion. Mass fluorographic examinations of the population cannot reduce TB mortality rates and are extremely expensive. To lower the mortality rate and to improve the detection of TB, there is a need for screening high-risk groups for this disease at least once every 6 months. Index terms: tuberculosis; fluorographic examinations; clinical and economic efficiency.