Overview

The WHO consolidated guidelines on tuberculosis: tuberculosis preventive treatment provides a comprehensive set of recommendations for programmatic management of tuberculosis preventive treatment (PMTPT) geared towards the implementers of the WHO End TB Strategy and also for countries intent upon TB elimination (9). The guidelines are to be used primarily in national TB and HIV and maternal and child programmes or their equivalents in ministries of health and for other policy-makers working on TB, HIV, infectious diseases and maternal and child health. They are also appropriate for staff of ministries of justice, correctional services and other government agencies which deliver healthcare, including prison services, social services and immigration. The guidelines are also intended for clinicians in the public or the private sectors working on TB, HIV, infectious diseases, prevention, child health and noncommunicable diseases such as chronic kidney disease and cancer. The persons directly affected by the guidelines are risk groups for whom TB preventive treatment is recommended.

Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations & acronyms
• Definitions
• Executive summary
• Introduction
  • 1. Background
  • 2. Rationale
  • 3. Scope of the current update
  • 4. Target audience
• 1. Recommendations
  • 1.1. Identification of populations for testing of latent tuberculosis infection and TB preventive treatment
  • 1.2. Ruling out active tuberculosis disease
  • 1.3. Testing for latent tuberculosis infection
  • 1.4. Tuberculosis preventive treatment options
• 2. Monitoring and evaluation
• 3. Research gaps
  • Risks for progression to active TB
  • Defining the best algorithm for ruling out active TB
  • Improved diagnostic tests and performance of LTBI tests in at-risk populations
  • Treatment options for LTBI
  • Monitoring of adverse events
  • Drug resistance and TB preventive treatment
  • Adherence to and completion of treatment
  • Cost–effectiveness
  • Preventive treatment for contacts of people with MDR-TB
  • Programme management
• 4. References
• Supplementary Table
• Online annexes
  • ANNEX 1. Methods and Expert Panels
  • ANNEX 2. GRADE summary of evidence tables (for new recommendations in 2018 & 2019 guidelines updates)
  • ANNEX 3. GRADE evidence-to-decision tables

Suggested citation:

WHO consolidated guidelines on tuberculosis: tuberculosis preventive treatment. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

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