{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]],"date-time":"2026-03-19T00:44:11Z","timestamp":1773881051758,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease","issue":"2","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJTLD Open"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,8]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>SUMMARY<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>BACKGROUND<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>TB remains a major public health concern in India where diagnostic delays persist. This study assessed the impact of drone-based sputum transport on turnaround time (TAT) and access to TB care in Telangana\u2019s Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri district.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>METHODS<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A quasi-experimental mixed-methods study was conducted under the Indian Council of Medical Research\u2019s i-DRONE initiative. Intervention included pre-drone phase (ground transport of samples) and drone phase (drone-based transport of samples). Outcomes: TAT, patient and diagnostic delay, and out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE). Quantitative data were analysed using Jamovi and MS Excel; qualitative insights were gathered from open-ended remarks and observations made during the field.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>RESULTS<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 840 individuals (206 in the pre-drone phase and 634 in the drone phase) were enrolled. The median TAT reduced from 15 days (interquartile range [IQR]: 10\u201320) in the pre-drone phase to 5 days (IQR: 2\u20139) in the drone phase, and the mean (standard deviation) TAT dropped from 16.6 days (18.1) to 6.9 days (8.3) (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt; 0.001). The mean OOPE declined from INR 9,451 (\u223cUSD 113.4) to INR 90.9 (\u223cUSD 1.0). Patients reported travel difficulties, loss of daily wages, and stigma as reasons for delaying care.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>CONCLUSION<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Significant reduction in the TAT and improved access to TB diagnosis in rural and remote Indian settings support the feasibility of scaling drone-based logistics within national TB elimination efforts.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.5588\/ijtldopen.25.0484","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T09:54:06Z","timestamp":1771926846000},"page":"70-76","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Drone-based sputum transport for TB diagnosis in remote communities"],"prefix":"10.5588","volume":"3","author":[{"given":"B.","family":"Kamble","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"V.","family":"Ganji","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"K.","family":"Nigam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0652-1611","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"S.","family":"Aggarwal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"G.","family":"Potukuchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"R.","family":"Kundapur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Panda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"N.","family":"Agarwal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"V.","family":"Bhatia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"3554","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.1","unstructured":"World Health Organization . Tuberculosis resurges as top infectious disease killer [Internet]. Geneva: WHO, 2024. https:\/\/www.who.int\/news\/item\/29-10-2024-tuberculosis-resurges-as-top-infectious-disease-killer."},{"key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.2","unstructured":"World Health Organization . Global tuberculosis report 2022. Geneva: WHO, 2022."},{"issue":"1","key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.3","first-page":"e24","article-title":"Barriers to tuberculosis treatment in high-prevalence settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"9","author":"Pradipta","year":"2021","journal-title":"Lancet Glob Health"},{"key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.4","first-page":"325","article-title":"Implementation of drone-based delivery of medical supplies in North-East India: experiences, challenges, and adopted strategies","volume":"23","author":"Aggarwal","year":"2023","journal-title":"BMC Health Serv Res"},{"issue":"2","key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"342","DOI":"10.4103\/jfmpc.jfmpc_413_18","article-title":"Unmanned aerial vehicle (drones) in public health: a SWOT analysis","volume":"8","author":"Laksham","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Fam Med Prim Care"},{"issue":"6","key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.6","first-page":"682","article-title":"Surgical and medical applications of drones: a comprehensive review","volume":"27","author":"Rosser","year":"2020","journal-title":"Surg Innov"},{"issue":"3","key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0267664","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0267664","article-title":"Human-drone interaction in delivery of medical supplies: a scoping review of experimental studies","volume":"17","author":"Stephan","year":"2022","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"7","key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.8","first-page":"3020","article-title":"Drones in public health: a systematic review","volume":"8","author":"Laksham","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Community Med Public Health"},{"key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjgh-2019-001541"},{"key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101066","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vhri.2024.101066","article-title":"Cost-effectiveness of aerial logistics for immunization: a model-based evaluation of centralized storage and drone delivery of vaccines in Ghana using empirical data","volume":"46","author":"Ospina-Fadul","year":"2025","journal-title":"Value Health Reg Issues"},{"key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.11","unstructured":"Government of Telangana . Yadadri Bhuvanagiri District [Internet]. Hyderabad, India: Government of Telangana. https:\/\/yadadri.telangana.gov.in\/ (Accessed 09 September 2025)."},{"key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.12","unstructured":"Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India . Realising our collective vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat [Internet]. In: The Drone rules, 2021. New Delhi, India: Government of India, 2022. https:\/\/static.pib.gov.in\/writereaddata\/specificdocs\/documents\/2022\/jan\/doc202212810701.pdf (Accessed 09 September 2025)."},{"key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijtb.2025.04.006"},{"key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.14","unstructured":"National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme . India TB report 2024 [Internet]. New Delhi, India: Central TB Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 2024. https:\/\/tbcindia.mohfw.gov.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/TB-Report_for-Web_08_10-2024-1.pdf."},{"key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.15","unstructured":"Government of India . Directorate general of civil aviation. New Delhi, India: Government of India. https:\/\/www.dgca.gov.in\/digigov-portal\/?page=jsp\/dgca\/InventoryList\/headerblock\/drones\/RPAS.html."},{"issue":"10","key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"971","DOI":"10.1093\/trstmh\/trac021","article-title":"Do unmanned aerial vehicles reduce the duration and costs in transporting sputum samples? A feasibility study conducted in Himachal Pradesh, India","volume":"116","author":"Thakur","year":"2022","journal-title":"Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg"},{"issue":"5","key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1637","DOI":"10.4103\/jfmpc.jfmpc_975_24","article-title":"Transporting medicines by drones in hilly terrain of Northern Himalayas in India","volume":"14","author":"Gairolla","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Fam Med Prim Care"},{"issue":"4","key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"425","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cmi.2019.09.014","article-title":"Use of drones in clinical microbiology and infectious diseases: current status, challenges, and barriers","volume":"26","author":"Poljak","year":"2020","journal-title":"Clin Microbiol Infect"},{"key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"40","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajem.2023.01.020","article-title":"Drones reduce the treatment-free interval in search and rescue operations with telemedical support: a randomized controlled trial","volume":"66","author":"van Veelen","year":"2023","journal-title":"Am J Emerg Med"},{"issue":"4","key":"2026031812064709000_3.2.70.20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"172","DOI":"10.4103\/PMRR.PMRR_73_24","article-title":"Enhancing healthcare access: drone-based delivery of medicines and vaccines in hard-to-reach terrains of Northeastern India","volume":"1","author":"Aggarwal","year":"2024","journal-title":"Prev Med Res Rev"}],"container-title":["IJTLD Open"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.5588\/ijtldopen.25.0484","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,18]],"date-time":"2026-03-18T19:07:20Z","timestamp":1773860840000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.theunion.org\/lookup\/doi\/10.5588\/ijtldopen.25.0484"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]},"references-count":20,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,1]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]}},"alternative-id":["10.5588\/ijtldopen.25.0484"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5588\/ijtldopen.25.0484","relation":{},"ISSN":["3005-7590"],"issn-type":[{"value":"3005-7590","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]}}}