Cochrane reviews on tests for tuberculosis disease and tuberculosis drug resistance
With its editorial base at LSTM, Cochrane Infectious Diseases joins the global community in recognizing World TB Day with a Special Collection of systematic reviews on tests for tuberculosis disease and tuberculosis drug resistance. World Tuberculosis Day is marked annually on 24 March as it commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacillus that causes tuberculosis.
The WHO Global Tuberculosis Programme has led the development of guidelines for diagnostic tests that allow for screening for and rapid detection of tuberculosis and drug-resistant tuberculosis. These guidelines were developed using the GRADE approach for rating the certainty of a body of evidence and translating evidence into recommendations. This Special Collection, curated by Cochrane contributors, includes selected systematic reviews from Cochrane Infectious Diseases and other international teams that underpin two WHO consolidated guidelines on systematic screening for tuberculosis disease and on rapid diagnostics for tuberculosis detection.
Kathryn Lougheed writes, “Untangling ourselves from this foe is not a simple task. How do you kill something that’s spent millions of generations finding ways not to be killed? … Because if we can understand the makings of TB, then maybe we can find a way to unmake it”. We hope this Special Collection of systematic reviews will enable anyone who is interested to find high-quality information on tests for tuberculosis. Then, we will find the way to unmake it.
The Special Collection was curated by Mikashmi Kohli, Adrienne Shapiro, and Karen Steingart (CIDG Editor) and Nazir Ismail, Alexei Korobitsyn, and Cecily Miller (WHO Global Tuberculosis Programme)
This news item was originally published on the LSTM website here.