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Same‐day smears in the diagnosis of tuberculosis
Author(s) -
Hirao S.,
Yassin M. A.,
Khamofu H. G.,
Lawson L.,
Cambanis A.,
Ramsay A.,
Cuevas L. E.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3156.2007.01952.x
Subject(s) - medicine , sputum , tuberculosis , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , morning , pathology , immunology
Summary Objective To assess the feasibility of completing the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in 1 day by collecting only on‐the‐spot specimens. Methods Individuals with suspected TB attending district hospitals in Abuja submitted three sputum samples for routine diagnosis (the standard approach). One additional sample was collected 1 h after the first sputum (the same‐day approach). One sputum sample was cultured. Blood samples were tested for HIV. Results Two hundred and twenty‐four patients with chronic cough had 135/672 (20%) positive on‐the‐spot smears and 47/224 (21%) positive morning smears. The same‐day and internationally recommended approaches identified 44 and 45 of the 78 patients with positive cultures, respectively. 106/194 (55%) patients were HIV positive. Only 9–11% of their smears were positive compared with 30–32% for HIV negatives ( P < 0.01). Conclusion It could be possible to diagnose TB in a single day by examining two spot specimens, but the feasibility needs to be confirmed on a larger scale.