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The concept of Patient Turnaround Time (P-TAT) is to find out how much time was taken from the identification of the patient for a test to getting the result of that test and initiation of patient's treatment based on the test result.
The National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) have set benchmarks to monitor the P-TAT as provided in the table below.
Programme officers/ staff needs to ensure that the P-TAT relative to the laboratory technology used, should be well within the minimum acceptable timeline as detailed in this table to improve patient treatment outcomes.
| TECHNOLOGY | PRE-LAB TAT IN DAYS* | LAB TAT IN DAYS** | POST-LAB TAT IN DAYS*** | TOTAL PATIENT TAT IN DAYS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAAT | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2-3 | 4-7 |
| LPA | 1-3 | 2-3 | 2-3 | 5-9 |
| LC-DST# | NA | Time till LPA testing – 5-7 days + @22-48 (in most cases 30 days) | 2-3 | 29-58 (in most cases 40 days) |
| LC for follow up | 2-3 days (for tracing patient and collecting specimen) | 8-42 | 1-2 | 11-45 |
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* Pre-lab TAT for Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) includes time from patient identification, counselling, collection and transport of 2 specimens to NAAT facility. Pre-lab TAT for Line Probe Assay (LPA) and Liquid Culture - Drug Susceptibility Testing (LC-DST) includes time from collection to NAAT and further transport of the second specimen to Culture and Drug Susceptibility Testing (C&DST) labs. ** Lab TAT includes the time from specimen receipt to results by technology. ***Post-lab TAT includes time from accessing test results, pre-treatment evaluation to treatment initiation. # For Pyrazinamide DST, additional 7 days will be needed. @ Includes culture and growth days for DST set-up. Fresh samples are collected from the patient and transported for follow-up on liquid culture. |
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