InPULSE
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating Patients’ & `Clinicians’ Understanding of LTBI Screening & their Experience of a Positive Result
IRAS ID
270434
Contact name
Paul Collini
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 9 days
Research summary
Patients with diseases caused by inflammation are often treated with medicines that modify the body's immune response to control the inflammation. A possible risk with these treatments is reactivation of inactive or 'latent' infections like tuberculosis, so it is now routine to screen all patients for latent tuberculosis infection 'LTBI' in advance. Because tuberculosis is uncommon in the UK and interpreting a 'positive' screening test is complicated, the small proportion of patients who test positive are often uncertain and may be worried while waiting to be seen by a tuberculosis specialist for further evaluation.
In our study we will interview a small number of patients who have been referred to the Tuberculosis clinic with a positive LTBI screening test in order to learn what they understand about the result and their experiences of the screening and subsequently. Learning from the main themes that come across in these interviews we will then design questionnaires to survey a larger and representative number of patients and their clinical teams to get a true understanding of their knowledge and experiences of LTBI screening.
We will publish out findings and use them to design better ways of providing information for such patients in the future when they are screened for LTBI.
REC name
North East - Tyne & Wear South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/NE/0298
Date of REC Opinion
25 Sep 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion