Culture Conversion Rate at 2 Months of Treatment According to Diagnostic Methods among Patients with Culture-Positive Pulmonary Tuberculosis

摘要

IntroductionThe culture-negative conversion rate of sputum after 2 months of treatment in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is used as a reliable surrogate marker for relapse after completion of treatment. We hypothesized that culture conversion of sputum at 2 months of anti-TB treatment and the time to culture conversion are different among pulmonary TB patients who are diagnosed using different methods.