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Record-linkage and capture–recapture analysis to estimate the incidence and completeness of reporting of tuberculosis in England 1999–2002

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2008

N. A. H. VAN HEST*
Affiliation:
Tuberculosis Control Section, Division of Infectious Disease Control, Municipal Public Health Service Rotterdam-Rijnmond, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
A. STORY
Affiliation:
Respiratory Diseases Department, Centre for Infections, Health Protection Agency, London, UK
A. D. GRANT
Affiliation:
Statistics, Modelling and Bioinformatics Department, Centre for Infections, Health Protection Agency, London, UK
D. ANTOINE
Affiliation:
Respiratory Diseases Department, Centre for Infections, Health Protection Agency, London, UK
J. P. CROFTS
Affiliation:
Respiratory Diseases Department, Centre for Infections, Health Protection Agency, London, UK
J. M. WATSON
Affiliation:
Respiratory Diseases Department, Centre for Infections, Health Protection Agency, London, UK
*
*Author for correspondence: Rob van Hest, M.D., Ph.D., Consultant Tuberculosis Control Physician/Epidemiologist, Tuberculosis Control Section, Division of Infectious Disease Control, Municipal Public Health Service Rotterdam-Rijnmond, PO Box 70032, 3000 LP Rotterdam, The Netherlands. (Email: vanhestr@ggd.rotterdam.nl)
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Summary

In 1999 the Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance (ETS) system was introduced in the United Kingdom to strengthen surveillance of tuberculosis (TB). The aim of this study was to assess the use of record-linkage and capture–recapture methodology for estimating the completeness of TB reporting in England between 1999 and 2002. Due to the size of the TB data sources sophisticated record-linkage software was required and the proportion of false-positive cases among unlinked hospital-derived TB records was estimated through a population mixture model. This study showed that record-linkage of TB data sources and cross-validation with additional TB-related datasets improved data quality as well as case ascertainment. Since the introduction of ETS observed completeness of notification in England has increased and the results were consistent with expected levels of under-notification. Completeness of notification estimated by a log-linear capture–recapture model was highly inconsistent with prior estimates and the validity of this methodology was further examined.

Information

Type
Original Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press
Figure 0

Table 1. Initial annual number of cases in each of the tuberculosis data sources before record-linkage and the proportion of records excluded from the study because of ‘insufficient identifiers’ (incomplete or missing date of birth or age)

Figure 1

Table 2. Number, proportion and distribution of tuberculosis cases between the data sources after record-linkage in England between 1999 and 2002 and correction for estimated and projected proportions of false-positive records

Figure 2

Table 3. Annual and overall observed number of tuberculosis cases after record-linkage and correction for false-positive records and annual and total observed source-specific coverage rates of notified, culture-confirmed and hospitalized tuberculosis cases in England between 1999 and 2002

Figure 3

Table 4. Annual and overall estimated number of unobserved and total tuberculosis (TB) cases by saturated log-linear capture–recapture model in England between 1999 and 2002 (after using a proportion of 28% of true TB cases known only to Hospital in the corrections for false-positive cases)

Figure 4

Table 5. Annual and overall estimated number of unobserved and total tuberculosis (TB) cases by structural source model and truncated Poisson mixture model in England between 1999 and 2002 (after using a proportion of 28% of true TB cases known only to Hospital in the corrections for false-positive cases)