TBM-App: a clinical decision support system for tuberculous meningitis

Abstract

Abstract Tuberculosis (TB) was responsible for approximately 1.6 million deaths in 2017 and it is the deadliest among the infectious diseases, killing more than Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) related diseases. One of the most lethal forms of this disease is the central nervous system TB. The clinical and microbiological diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is still a challenge and to standardize the diagnosis and offer more reliable information to the decision-making process in the clinical practice, predictive scores were created and adapted for the Brazilian context. The score implementation will require staff training but has the potential to reduce time to the TBM diagnosis and therefore start correct treatment early. Although, there is a need to increase the access to the score and to facilitate its use among physicians to save time and resources. This study shows the design and development of a multiplatform mobile application to calculate the predictive score for tuberculous meningitis, in order to support clinical decisions. The preliminary results have shown an effective and versatile App, available to a variety of devices and which can still be available in places with limited or no internet access.