Setting: The National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP) of Benin, West Africa.
Objective: To verify the accuracy of the data published by the NTP in terms of notified cases and treatment results.
Design: Purposeful selection of nine basic management units (BMUs) that had declared zero tuberculosis (TB) patients lost to follow-up in the first three quarters of 2006. Retrospective onsite survey by independent teams based on the documents kept at the BMUs, on the data transmitted to and compiled at the central level and on home interviews with patients who had been declared treatment successes.
Results: Of the 446 cases evaluated, there was excellent agreement between the TB register and the TB treatment card, between the TB register and the quarterly reports and between the TB register and the laboratory register. Home interviews with 32 patients all confirmed the information contained in the treatment cards and the TB register.
Conclusion: The results published by the NTP of Benin are remarkably reliable.