title: One year experience using mycobacterial blood cultures to diagnose tuberculosis in patients with prolonged fever in Vietnam.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To evaluate the use of mycobacterial blood cultures (MBC) in diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) in patients with prolonged fever admitted to a Vietnamese referral hospital.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MBCs from 94 patients (66% male; median age 33 years; 75% HIV positive) were evaluated: 14 were mycobacterium positive (all HIV positive), and MBC was the only positive specimen in 9 cases (41%). Three positive cases were identified as Mycobacterium avium and the remaining M. tuberculosis (one case could not be identified).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MBC can be a valuable additional method to diagnose TB, particularly in immunosuppressed HIV patients when sputum cannot be collected.
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Program Vietnam, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU), Hanoi, Vietnam. diepntn0120@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Diep N T
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Trung V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Trinh T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Dao
authors.forename: Lam T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Horby
authors.forename: Kinh V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Heiman F L
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Wertheim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009162:Mycobacterium avium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014744:Vietnam