The TriageTB consortium successfully completed phase one of the study this summer. In the first phase, the consortium evaluated the reliability of the signature used in the tuberculosis (TB) triage test that the study aims to field validate. In the second phase, the efficacy of the easy-to-use point-of-care test will be tested across four sites, South Africa, the Gambia, Uganda, and Vietnam.
In early September, the TriageTB consortium began recruiting for phase two of the study in South Africa and the Gambia. Uganda, initially forced to push back the start of recruitment as they initially lacked necessary consumables, recruited their first patient in early November. To date (November 4), close to 90 patients have been recruited in total at the three sites. Vietnam saw a steep increase in COVID-19 cases after the summer and only came out of a strict lockdown in mid-October. The team in Vietnam is still fighting to solve a few post-lockdown challenges and hopes to start recruiting later this month.
In this second phase, the goal of the TriageTB consortium is to recruit 250 patients per site, amounting to 1,000 patients in total. The 22-month recruitment phase is scheduled to end in late August next year.
The TriageTB recruitment team will carefully monitor the progress of each site over time. The team has worked out average weekly and monthly targets, calibrated for disruptions during the holiday season.
Most patients who display symptoms of TB and consent with participating in the study are eligible for enrolment, except for people who are pregnant, anaemic, or have other conditions that can cause variations in a person’s immune picture.
The TriageTB consortium will come together for an Annual Meeting on November 15-16 this year, together with its sister project, ENDxTB, to take stock of the projects’ progress to date and discuss their joint efforts, including recruitment.
A summary of what we have learnt from the mentoring programme in TriageTB and some recommendations for establishing successful mentoring programmes
