BMJ  2005;331 (1 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7519.0-b

Educational outreach improves TB control

An educational outreach programme that trains nurse practitioners to diagnose and treat tuberculosis seems to be a promising solution for improving quality of care without extra staff in resource poor countries. A pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial by Fairall and colleagues (p 750) included 1999 patients presenting with cough or difficult breathing to 40 South African primary care clinics staffed by nurses. Nurses in the intervention arm diagnosed more tuberculosis and prescribed more corticosteroids, while antibiotic prescribing did not significantly differ between the arms.

Credit: KAREL PRINSLOO/AP

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Effect of educational outreach to nurses on tuberculosis case detection and primary care of respiratory illness: pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial

Lara R Fairall, Merrick Zwarenstein, Eric D Bateman, Max Bachmann, Carl Lombard, Bosielo P Majara, Gina Joubert, Rene G English, Angeni Bheekie, Dingie van Rensburg, Pat Mayers, Annatjie C Peters, and Ronald D Chapman
BMJ 2005 331: 750-754. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]