TB-related deaths among adults in Guinea-Bissau

SETTING: In an urban demographic, high TB burden surveillance site in Guinea-Bissau, most deaths occur at home, and information on cause of death (CoD) is lacking. OBJECTIVE: To examine CoD and the proportion of TB deaths in three groups: among patients examined for TB without a verified diagnosis after diagnostic workup, described as “assumed TB-negative” (aTBneg), among patients with a confirmed diagnosis of TB and in a sample of the background population. DESIGN: Verbal autopsies (VAs) were obtained for registered deaths occurring between 1 January 2010 and 15 June 2016. All deaths among aTBneg and patients with TB, and a sample of deaths in the background population were included. RESULTS: VAs were obtained from 104/112 aTBneg patients, 140/155 patients with TB, and 172/219 from the general population. The leading CoD was TB in respectively 20%, 69% and 9% of the cohorts. HIV/AIDS-related deaths were the most frequent CoD among aTBneg patients (45%) and in the background population (27%), and accounted for 9% of patients with TB. CONCLUSION: TB was shown to be a frequent CoD, not only among patients diagnosed with TB, but also among aTBneg patients and the background population. This indicates a low TB case detection rate.