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Influence of previous tuberculosis treatment history on acid-fast bacilli smear and culture conversion
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of previous tuberculosis (TB) treatment history on sputum smear and culture conversion.
DESIGN: Data, including sputum acid-fast bacilli (AFB) results at baseline and at weeks 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24, were collected from patients with AFB sputum smear-positive and culture-confirmed pulmonary TB. Patients with multidrug-resistant TB or those with poor adherence were excluded. AFB conversion was compared between patients with a previous history of anti-tuberculosis treatment and those without.
RESULTS: The median age of the 208 patients was 49.0 years; 58.3% were male, while 43 (20.7%) had a history of previous anti-tuberculosis treatment. Patients with a history of previous treatment had significantly lower sputum smear-negative conversion at 2 weeks of treatment compared with patients without (70.0% vs. 44.8%, P = 0.005). However, the two groups did not differ in culture conversion and in smear conversion at 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24 weeks of anti-tuberculosis treatment.
CONCLUSION: Patients with a history of previous anti-tuberculosis treatment are more likely to have positive sputum AFB smear at 2 weeks of treatment. However, sputum culture conversion is not affected by previous treatment history.
Keywords: infectivity; isolation; tuberculosis
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine and Lung Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea 2: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Seoul Veterans Hospital, Seoul, South Korea 3: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine and Lung Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Publication date: 01 October 2012
The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD) is for clinical research and epidemiological studies on lung health, including articles on TB, TB-HIV and respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, asthma, COPD, child lung health and the hazards of tobacco and air pollution. Individuals and institutes can subscribe to the IJTLD online or in print – simply email us at [email protected] for details.
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