Pretreatment sputum smear grade and smear positivity during follow-up of TB patients in Ahmedabad India

摘要

In Ahmedabad, India, a retrospective record review was undertaken among 2842 sputum smear-positive tuberculosis patients registered for treatment from April to September 2011 to assess the association of pretreatment sputum smear grade with sputum positivity and the additional yield of a second sputum sample during each follow-up examination. Respectively 39%, 26%, 28% and 7% of patients had pretreatment sputum grade 3+, 2+, 1+ and scanty. The higher the pretreatment sputum grade, the higher the proportion found positive during various follow-up periods. Overall, the additional yield of the second sputum sample was <2%; it did not vary with pretreatment smear grading.