Abstract
Smear diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) requires three sputum examinations over 2 days. We evaluated the performance of two sputum specimens obtained on a single day (the second specimen submitted 1 h after the first) against the standard 2-day method in rural Ethiopia. A total of 243 suspects were enrolled; 52 had confirmed PTB: 49 (94%) were detected by the same-day method and 51 (98%) by the standard method (P > 0.5). The same-day approach would reduce the number of visits required for diagnosis, save resources for the health system and the patient, and ultimately improve case detection in poorer countries.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 230-232 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2006 |
Keywords
- Diagnosis of tuberculosis
- Same-day sputum testing
- Smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis
- Tuberculosis case finding
