title: Smoking prolongs the infectivity of patients with tuberculosis.
abstract: We sought to establish if smokers on anti-tuberculosis treatment are more likely to have a prolonged period of infectivity, compared to non-smoking tuberculosis patients, in a low tuberculosis prevalence country. We conducted a cross-sectional, retrospective study in Ireland that recruited 53 microbiologically confirmed cases of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). The age-sex adjusted odds ratios (AOR) suggest that the infectivity status of PTB on treatment was four times more likely to be prolonged beyond 6-8 weeks, if the cases had a smoking history (AOR: 4.42; 95% CI: 1.23; 15.9). Smoking was associated with delayed sputum smear conversion in PTB patients on treatment.
authors.affiliation: Trinity College Dublin, Centre for Global Health, 3-5 Foster Place, Dublin 2. siddiquu@tcd.ie
authors.forename: U A
authors.initials: UA
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Toole
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kabir
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qureshi
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gibbons
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kane
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Keane
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology*; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents