OBJECTIVES To assess the performance of Xpert MTB/RIF, an automated molecular test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and resistance to rifampin (RIF), against smear microscopy and culture method for diagnosis of MTB infection. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of 103 respiratory and 137 non-respiratory patient specimens suspected of tuberculosis at King Khalid University Hospital, Ri...

INTRODUCTION The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended using a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) for diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) but there is a lack of data on NAAT cost-effectiveness. METHODS We conducted a prospective cohort study that included all patients with an AFB smear-positive respiratory specimen at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, GA, USA bet...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the validity of the fixed mathematical relationship between the annual risk of tuberculous infection (ARTI), the prevalence of smear-positive tuberculosis (TB) and the incidence of smear-positive TB specified as the Styblo rule, which TB control programmes use to estimate the incidence of TB disease at a population level and the case detection rate. METHODS Population-ba...

BACKGROUND Early diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) is a major key for effective TB program. Evaluation of delay in diagnosis of smear positive TB is needed to evaluation of TB program situation in each country. The aim of this study was to evaluate of diagnosis delay in smear positive tuberculosis patients in Islamic Republic of Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this cross sectional study, all smea...

SETTING Five districts in Sri Lanka. OBJECTIVES To determine: 1) the proportion of sputum smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases who failed to smear convert at 2 months, 2) their management, and 3) whether baseline characteristics and final treatment outcomes were different from those who did smear convert. DESIGN Cross-sectional retrospective review of medical files, tuberculosi...

BACKGROUND Little is currently known regarding sputum smear reversion (acid-fast smear becomes positive again after negative conversion) during anti-tuberculous treatment. This study aimed to evaluate its occurrence in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and identify factors predicting results of mycobacterial culture for smear-reversion of sputum samples. METHODS The retrospective revi...

BACKGROUND Sputum smear microscopy is commonly used for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB). Although patients with sputum smear-negative TB are less infectious than patients with smear-positive TB, they also contribute to TB transmission. The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of TB transmission events caused by patients with smear-negative pulmonary TB in The Netherlands. METH...

BACKGROUND In 2007 WHO issued a guideline to improve the diagnosis of smear-negative and extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in HIV-positive patients. This guideline relies heavily on the acceptance of HIV-testing and availability of chest X-rays. METHODS AND FINDINGS Cohort study of TB suspects in four tuberculosis (TB) clinics in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We assessed the operational performance ...

BACKGROUND Tuberculosis (TB) case detection in women has remained low in developing world. This study was conducted to determine the proportion of smear positive TB among women with cough regardless of the duration attending family Planning (FP) and Maternal and child health (MCH) clinics in Dar es Salaam. METHODS We conducted a cross sectional study in all three municipal hospitals of Dar es...