Negative sputum smear results in HIV-positive patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in Lusaka, Zambia.
During recruitment to a prospective study of tuberculosis patients in Lusaka, Zambia, 109 had pulmonary disease proven by sputum culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, of whom 72 were HIV-1 antibody-positive and 37 were HIV-negative. Among these culture-proven cases, 43% of the HIV-positive patients had a negative sputum smear, compared with 24% of the HIV-negative cases. There was a strong trend towards lower grade or negative sputum smear in the HIV-positive group (P = 0.003). HIV-positive cases also had lower colony counts on culture and colonies took longer to appear. The findings imply that cases of HIV-associated pulmonary tuberculosis may frequently be missed and emphasise the need for new diagnostic methods.
Elliott
A M
AM
School of Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka.
Namaambo
K
K
Allen
B W
BW
Luo
N
N
Hayes
R J
RJ
Pobee
J O
JO
McAdam
K P
KP
D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D000328:Adult; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology*; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000382:microbiology*
D015483:HIV Antibodies