Same-day smears in the diagnosis of tuberculosis.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the feasibility of completing the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in 1 day by collecting only on-the-spot specimens.


METHODS
Individuals with suspected TB attending district hospitals in Abuja submitted three sputum samples for routine diagnosis (the standard approach). One additional sample was collected 1 h after the first sputum (the same-day approach). One sputum sample was cultured. Blood samples were tested for HIV.


RESULTS
Two hundred and twenty-four patients with chronic cough had 135/672 (20%) positive on-the-spot smears and 47/224 (21%) positive morning smears. The same-day and internationally recommended approaches identified 44 and 45 of the 78 patients with positive cultures, respectively. 106/194 (55%) patients were HIV positive. Only 9-11% of their smears were positive compared with 30-32% for HIV negatives (P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
It could be possible to diagnose TB in a single day by examining two spot specimens, but the feasibility needs to be confirmed on a larger scale.
Hirao
S
S
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK.
Yassin
M A
MA
Khamofu
H G
HG
Lawson
L
L
Cambanis
A
A
Ramsay
A
A
Cuevas
L E
LE
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology