Clinical and radiological presentation of 340 adults with smear-positive tuberculosis in The Gambia.
METHODS
Four clinics in The Gambia.


OBJECTIVE
To document clinical and radiographic presentations of sputum smear-positive tuberculosis in adults.


METHODS
Newly diagnosed acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear, culture-positive tuberculosis patients aged > or = 15 years were interviewed and examined, and underwent tuberculin skin testing, HIV testing and chest X-ray reviewed by a chest physician using set criteria.


RESULTS
Of 340 patients enrolled (median age 29 years; males 73%), 8.3% were HIV-positive. One-third reported haemoptysis, > 90% reported weight loss and fever, and wasting was the most common sign (69%). Crepitations were the most frequent auscultatory finding (41%). The most common radiological lesion was a patchy infiltrate (> 90%). Cavitation was present in 206 patients (60.6%), most frequently occurred in the upper lung fields, was associated with increasing bacterial load in the sputum, and was less prevalent in HIV-positive patients (45% vs. 62%; P = 0.07). Auscultatory and chest X-ray findings matched only one-third of the time.


CONCLUSIONS
In our setting, wasting is the most common clinical sign of sputum smear-positive tuberculosis. Auscultatory findings correlate poorly with radiological abnormalities. Cavitation is associated with increasing bacterial load in the sputum, and is therefore a strong indicator for early treatment.
Rathman
G
G
University of Minnesota, Department of Medicine, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Sillah
J
J
Hill
P C
PC
Murray
J F
JF
Adegbola
R
R
Corrah
T
T
Lienhardt
C
C
McAdam
K P W J
KP
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005714:Gambia; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology*; D014374:Tuberculin Test; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000382:microbiology