BACKGROUND Both vitamin D deficiency and genetic variants in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) have been reported to associate with delayed response to intensive-phase therapy for pulmonary tuberculosis. Studies investigating the influence of genetic variants in vitamin D binding protein (DBP) and vitamin D 25-hydroxylase (CYP2R1) on vitamin D status and response to antituberculous therapy are lacki...

Purpose. The predictive factor of response to antituberculous therapy has not been fully elucidated. Airway acidity has been thought to be a potential indicator of the bactericidal activity. Therefore, we hypothesized that monitoring airway acidity by measuring sputum pH could predict response to therapy. Methods. A total of 47 patients having newly diagnosed, smear-positive, active pulmonary t...

BACKGROUND Studies from India on sputum conversion and tuberculosis (TB) treatment outcomes among TB patients with diabetes are limited. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to estimate the proportion of sputum smear conversion and successful treatment outcomes among diabetic-TB patients treated under Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP). METHODOLOGY Information on TB disease, ...

OBJECTIVE This study sought to describe the trend of sputum organism density and the rate of bacteriological conversion among smear positive TB patients assessing care at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi, Ghana. METHODS We conducted a retrospective patient folder review from January 2013 to March 2016 at the KATH, a tertiary hospital in Ghana. The data was entered into Micros...

BACKGROUND Few prospective cohort studies, none in China, have investigated the relationship between treatment outcomes of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients and sputum culture conversion. Factors affecting the time of the culture conversion throughout the whole course of the treatment have rarely been investigated. METHODS This study was performed in four cities in Jiangsu pr...

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major health problem worldwide. The bacteriological diagnosis of TB is confirmed by sputum smear, which shows positive result. Sputum culture conversion at two months therapy has higher possibility completing therapy; however, this method time-consuming and expensive. This study aimed to analyze the initial smear in intensive phase as prognostic determinant appropria...

OBJECTIVES To identify clinical, radiological and microbiological factors associated with the non conversion of sputum smears in new smear positive cases of pulmonary tuberculosis after two months of treatment and to evaluate the influence of non-smear conversion on treatment outcomes. DESIGN A prospective cohort study. SETTING Tuberculosis centre of Hôpital Jamot in Yaoundé- Cameroon from ...

BACKGROUND Tanzania ranks 15th among the world's 22 countries with the largest tuberculosis burden and tuberculosis has continued to be among the major public health problems in the country. Limited data, especially in patients co infected with HIV, are available to predict the duration of time required for a smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis patient to achieve sputum conversion after start...

For hospitalized patients with smear-positive pulmonary or laryngeal tuberculosis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that three consecutive sputum samples be negative for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) before respiratory isolation is discontinued. Limited data are available to predict the length of time to obtain three negative sputum smears and cultures and to determine factor...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE New smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients in the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) are treated with a 6-month short-course chemotherapy (SCC) regimen irrespective of co-morbid conditions. We undertook this retrospective analysis to compare sputum conversion rates (smear, culture) at the end of intensive phase (IP) of Category-1 regimen...