Time Lag in Reporting of CBNAAT Under RNTCP in Rural Tertiary Health Care Centre

Introduction: CBNAAT is a very useful rapid diagnostic test for the early diagnosis of DS and DR TB. Report of sample can be available in just 2 hours. But the results of these tests are not available for many days to weeks which results in delay in diagnosis and treatment initiation. Material and Method: This study was conducted for a period of 4 months from mid-April to mid-august 2018 in MMIMSR, Mullana. A total of 535 samples were sent for CBNAAT to TB Hospital, Ambala and the time taken from sending of samples to the receiving of report was analysed and time lag was calculated. Results: Out of 535 samples, 429 samples were negative, 104 were positive for MTB and 2 samples resulted as invalid/error. Out of 104 positive samples, 95 were rifampicin sensitive and 9 were rifampicin resistant MTB. The average time lag in reporting of CBNAAT samples was 11.1 days with shortest time being 2 days and longest being 33 days. Conclusion: CBNAAT is a very useful modality in TB diagnosis and should be made available to all eligible patients especially so in high DR-TB prevalence areas. But delay in reporting undermines the purpose of the test i.e. rapid diagnosis and treatment. There is an urgent need to establish more centres with CBNAAT facility throughout India so that there is no delay in reporting and early treatment can be started.