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Reactivation of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in New South Wales, 1975
Author(s) -
Mukerjee Chitta M.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1978.tb131589.x
Subject(s) - pulmonary tuberculosis , tuberculosis , medicine , chemotherapy , medical record , surgery , pediatrics , pathology
Fifty‐one patients were notified as suffering from reactivation of pulmonary tuberculosis during 1975 in New South Wales. The medical records of these patients were reviewed. Reactivation accounted for 9.8% of all cases of pulmonary tuberculosis notified during this period. The mean interval between original notification and reactivation was 14.8 years. The mean age of patients with reactivated pulmonary tuberculosis was 62.1 years. The most important factors influencing reactivation were alcoholism, and previous inadequate chemotherapy due to poor patient cooperation. It is possible that reactivation may be prevented in Australia by fully supervised, short‐course chemotherapy for all patients.