Impact of sputum volume in the diagnosis of smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis

摘要

Objective: To find the impact of sputum volume in the diagnosis of smear-positive (SP) pulmonary tuberculosis (PT) and its association with gender. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology, GSL Medical College. PT patients were included and informed to provide good-quality sputum; volume was not mentioned. Smears were stained by Ziehl–Neelsen technique. Based on the volume of sample submitted, the participants were divided into three groups. Chi-square test was used to find the statistical significance; P 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Volume-wise, 22, 38, and 74 participants submitted sputum, respectively, in groups, 2 mL, 2–5 mL, and 5 mL; statistically, the difference was significant (P 0.05). The smear positivity was 13% (15), 28% (32), and 59% (68), respectively, in groups, 2 mL, 2–5 mL, and 5 mL; statistically, the difference was significant (P 0.05). Among the missed cases, the difference was statistically significant (P 0.05) in males and the difference was statistically not significant (P 0.05) in females. Conclusions: Notable number of SP cases are identified in ≤5 mL sputum. Hence, sample should not be discarded/rejected if the volume is 5 mL.