Open AccessTuberculosis diagnosis and treatment practices of private physicians in Karachi, Pakistan
Author(s) -
Jibran Khan,
Amyn A. Malik,
Hamidah Hussain,
Noora Ali,
Farooq Akbani,
Saqib Hussain,
Ghulam Nabi Kazi
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
eastern mediterranean health journal/eastern mediterranean health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.442
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1687-1634
pISSN - 1020-3397
DOI - 10.26719/2003.9.4.769
Subject(s) - tuberculosis , medicine , family medicine , pediatrics , pathology
In a densely populated urban area of Karachi, Pakistan, a questionnaire survey was made of the knowledge and practices of 120 private general practitioners about the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis [TB]. The majority knew that cough, fever and weight loss were the main symptoms of TB, but less than half knew that blood in sputum, poor appetite and chest pain were associated with the disease. Only 58.3% of physicians used sputum microscopy for diagnosing TB and 35.0% used it as a follow-up test. Only 41.7% treated TB patients themselves, the remaining referring their patients to specialists. Around 73.3% of the doctors were aware of the 4 first-line anti-TB drugs. Efforts to improve the knowledge of private practitioners, and strategies to enhance public-private collaboration for TB control in urban areas are urgently required