Examination of 6,880 sputum specimens from untreated patients disclosed that 3.1% were positive for mycobacteria by fluorescence microscopy, and 92.5% of these has positive cultures. There was a positive correlation between the number of organisms seen on smear and growth on culture. All specimens with positive smears and negative cultures contained rare or few acid-fast bacilli on the smear. E...

BACKGROUND Although World Health Organization guidelines recommend clinical judgment and chest radiography for diagnosing tuberculosis in HIV-infected adults with unexplained cough and negative sputum smears for acid-fast bacilli, the diagnostic performance of this approach is unknown. Therefore, we sought to assess the accuracy of symptoms, physical signs, and radiographic findings for diagnos...

Background. Despite low sensitivity in detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, sputum acid-fast smear remains the main diagnostic method. This study aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of Xpert MTB/RIF assay versus conventional sputum acid-fast smear. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Chiang Mai University Hospital, Thailand. Patients who were ≥15 years ol...

BACKGROUND Bleach-sedimentation may improve microscopy for diagnosing tuberculosis by sterilising sputum and concentrating Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We studied gravity bleach-sedimentation effects on safety, sensitivity, speed and reliability of smear-microscopy. METHODS This blinded, controlled study used sputum specimens (n = 72) from tuberculosis patients. Bleach concentrations and expos...

Objective: This study aimed to use the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a rapid tool for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis from sputum samples. Clinically suspected tuberculosis patient in Khartoum state were targeted. Materials and Methods: Sputum specimens were collected from patients attending Abu Anga Hospital, Alsha’ab Teaching Hospital and Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory. Patien...

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 The World Health Organization estimated in 2010 that 8.8 million new tuberculosis (TB) cases. About one-third of the world's population is infected and 10% will develop active TB disease. While cultures remain the international gold standard for diagnosing TB disease, in many other low-income countries, sputum smears remain the only and most accessible tool with which to diagnose act...

A total of 356 patients were subjected to fibreoptic bronchoscopy from September 1989 to June 1991 to exclude bronchial carcinoma. Bronchial biopsy, bronchial brush smears and bronchial wash were obtained. Bronchial wash was examined for acid fast bacilli (AFB) compatible with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The total number diagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis by fibreoptic bronchoscopy was 21(5.8%...

BACKGROUND Direct sputum smear microscopy for tuberculosis (TB) lacks sensitivity for the detection of acid fast bacilli. Sputum pretreatment procedures may enhance sensitivity. We did a pilot study to compare the diagnostic accuracy and incremental yield of two short-duration (<1 hour) sputum pretreatment procedures to optimize direct smears among patients with suspected TB at a referral hospi...

  The aim of this study was to determine the ability of bronchial brushing in rapid diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in patients with negative sputum smear.this retrospective study was performed on 188 patients who were suspected of pulmonary tuberculosis and had undergone fiberoptic bronchoscopy during the period of 1990 to 1996 in Kerman university No.1 . Although their history, physical ...