BACKGROUND Nigeria ranks fourth among the 22 high tuberculosis (TB) burden countries. The estimated incidence of all TB cases in 2009 was 311/100,000 population. Since the implementation of DOTS in Ebonyi state, southeast Nigeria, the epidemiology of TB in the region has not been documented. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the type and case notification dynamics of TB follo...

BACKGROUND Rapid and accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) is crucial to facilitate early treatment of infectious cases and thus to reduce its spread. To improve the diagnosis of TB, more rapid diagnostic techniques such as antibody detection methods including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based serological tests and immunochromatographic methods were developed. This study was des...

OBJECTIVE To measure trends in the pulmonary tuberculosis burden between 2002 and 2011 and to assess the impact of the DOTS (directly observed treatment, short-course) strategy in Cambodia. METHODS Cambodia's first population-based nationwide tuberculosis survey, based on multistage cluster sampling, was conducted in 2002. The second tuberculosis survey, encompassing 62 clusters, followed in ...

BACKGROUND Each follow-up during the course of tuberculosis treatment currently requires two sputum examinations. However, the incremental yield of the second sputum sample during follow-up of different types of tuberculosis patients has never been determined precisely. OBJECTIVES To assess the incremental yield of the second sputum sample in the follow-up of tuberculosis patients under the R...

BACKGROUND Sputum smear-positive tuberculosis (TB) patients have a high risk of transmission and are of great epidemiological and infection control significance. Little is known about the smear-positive populations in high TB burden regions, such as Kazakhstan. The objective of this study is to characterize the smear-positive population in Kazakhstan and identify associated modifiable risk fact...

OBJECTIVE To assess the feasibility of a streamlined strategy for improving tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic evaluation and treatment initiation among patients with presumed TB. DESIGN Single-arm interventional pilot study at five primary care health centers of a streamlined, SIngle-saMPLE (SIMPLE) TB diagnostic evaluation strategy: 1) examination of two smear results from a single spot sputum sp...

BACKGROUND For the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTB), PCR is known to be sensitive, specific, and rapid compared to the conventional methods of acid-fast-bacilli (AFB) smear and culture. We evaluated a new approach for MTB detection using real-time PCR. METHODS The specificity of real-time PCR was evaluated using 20 MTB isolates and 37 nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) iso...

A study was performed to diagnose tuberculosis by smear, culture, and nucleic acid amplification. The study was comprised of two independent arms. Each arm used a different specimen processing method; in one arm, all specimens were processed with N-acetyl-l-cysteine-sodium hydroxide, and in the other arm, all specimens were processed with C(18)-carboxypropylbetaine and lytic enzymes. In each ar...

BACKGROUND In correctional settings tuberculosis is a public health concern. The incarcerated population is at greater risk for tuberculosis (TB) than the general population. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and associated risk factors in prison settings. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted among prisoners of North ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the role of routine bronchial washings (BW) culture for diagnostic sputum smear negative pulmonary case of tuberculosis (TB) at Maharat Nahkon Ratchasima Hospital. MATERIAL AND METHOD A retrospective, observational study of performed bronchial washing (BW) specimens from 93 patients who met presumptive criteria of smear negative case of pulmonary TB was done. The culture...