Educational outreach visits to primary care nurses improved tuberculosis detection and treatment of obstructive lung disease
Q Do educational outreach visits to nurse practitioners improve tuberculosis detection and management of respiratory illness in primary care clinics in rural South Africa?
METHODS
Design:
cluster randomised controlled trial.
Allocation:
concealed.
Blinding:
blinded (patients and data collectors).
Follow up period:
1 and 4 months after intervention began.
Setting:
40 large primary care clinics in Free State province, South Africa.
Patients:
1999 patients ⩾15 years of age (mean age 45 y, 65% women) who had difficult breathing on presentation or in the past 6 months, current cough for ⩾7 days, recurrent cough in the past 6 months, or current cough with temperature >38°C or respiratory rate ⩾30 breaths/minute. Patients referred elsewhere for urgent treatment were excluded. …
