title: Changes in Diagnostic Methods for Pulmonary Tuberculosis between 2005 and 2013.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Diagnostic methods for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) have recently advanced. The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in TB diagnostic tests that prompted the initiation of anti-TB treatment over time in South Korea, an industrialized country with an intermediate TB burden.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients diagnosed with pulmonary TB in the first halves of 2005 and 2013 at a tertiary referral hospital were included. Diagnostic methods that prompted the initiation of anti-TB treatment were compared between the 2 groups of patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A greater proportion of patients were diagnosed with pulmonary TB using bronchoscopy in 2013 than in 2005 (26.7% vs. 6.6%, respectively; p<0.001), while the proportion of patients clinically diagnosed with pulmonary TB was lower in 2013 than in 2005 (24.7% vs. 49.0%, respectively; p<0.001). Additionally, more patients started anti-TB treatment based on positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results for Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in 2013 than in 2005 (47.3% vs. 7.9%, respectively; p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The initiation of treatment for pulmonary TB in South Korea has become more frequently based on PCR and the use of bronchoscopic specimens.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Joohae
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Chul-Gyu
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Whan
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Koo
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Joon
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Yim
keywords: Bronchoscopy; Diagnosis; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary