Abstract:

Objective   To investigate the situation of diagnostic delay of tuberculosis patients and to explore its influencing factors in order to provide policy bases for improving the diagnostic delay. Methods   819 cases of tuberculosis patients were sampled from six cities of Shandong Province randomly, and the data was collected by questionnaire, which was analyzed by influencing factors test. Results   For the 819 cases of tuberculosis patients who were surveyed, 173(21.12%) of them were diagnosed delayed, and 643(78.88%) were not delayed. First diagnosis mechanism was the main cause that had something to do with the diagnostic delay of tuberculosis patients(P<0.05). Conclusion   Comprehensive measures should be taken to reduce the proportion of diagnostic delay of tuberculosis patients.

Key words: Tuberculosis; Patients; Diagnostic delay; Influencing factors; Current investigation