Can tuberculosis patients in resource-constrained settings afford chest radiography?

[摘要] ExtractEven when tuberculosis (TB) care is free; impoverished patients and their households continue to incur unmanageable costs due to seeking and staying in care for the full duration of anti-TB treatment [1]. By aggravating household vulnerability; these costs can prevent or delay diagnosis; treatment and successful outcome; leading to increased TB transmission; morbidity and mortality [2xe2x80x934]. The new World Health Organization (WHO)'s End TB Strategy places greater emphasis on ensuring universal free access to care; and it includes a target of elimination of associated catastrophic costs for TB patients and their households by 2020 [5].

[学科分类] 呼吸医学