TB management in the European Union/European Economic Area: a multi‐centre survey

BACKGROUND: Essential TB care in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) comprises 21 standards for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB that constitute the European Union Standards for Tuberculosis Care (ESTC). METHODS: In 2017, we conducted an audit on TB management and infection control measures against the ESTC standards. TB reference centres in five EU/EEA countries were purposely selected to represent the heterogeneous European TB burden and examine geographic variability. RESULTS: Data from 122 patients, diagnosed between 2012 and 2015 with multidrug-resistant TB ( n = 49), extensively drug‐resistant TB (XDR‐TB) ( n = 11), pre‐XDR‐TB ( n = 29) and drug‐susceptible TB ( n = 33), showed that TB diagnosis and treatment practices were in general in agreement with the ESTC. CONCLUSION: Overall, TB management and infection control practices were in agreement with the ESTC in the selected EU/EEA reference centres. Areas for improvement include strengthening of integrated care services and further implementation of patient‐centred approaches.