title: Performance of culture and drug susceptibility testing in pulmonary tuberculosis patients in northern China.
abstract: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a growing problem in China. In 2008, all smear-positive pulmonary TB patients in a city in northern China were expected to undergo routine culture and drug susceptibility testing (DST). We assessed the performance of this system. There were 915 patients, of whom 356 (39%) had culture performed; 275 (30%) had positive cultures and 236 (26%) had DST. Of the 236 patients with DST, 6% of new and 32% of previously treated patients had MDR-TB. Culture and DST is an important service for the correct management of patients, and solutions to improve the current system need to be considered.
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Tianjin, China. qiwei222@gmail.com
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Harries
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Hinderaker
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002681:China; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents