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. 2008 Jul;25(3):118-23.
doi: 10.4103/0970-2113.44122.

A study of sputum conversion in new smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis cases at the monthly intervals of 1, 2 & 3 month under directly observed treatment, short course (dots) regimen

S Bawri  1 , S Ali, C Phukan, B Tayal, P Baruwa
Affiliations

A study of sputum conversion in new smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis cases at the monthly intervals of 1, 2 & 3 month under directly observed treatment, short course (dots) regimen

S Bawri et al. Lung India. 2008 Jul.

Abstract

Aims and objectives: To determine sputum conversion rate at monthly intervals of 1st, 2nd and 3rd month in new smear positive cases (cat-1) under treatment under RNTCP.

Material and methods: The study was conducted at DOTS Center, Gauhati Medical College and Hospital; Guwahati between July 2005 to June 2006.The study is a prospective study and consists of 100 cases of new smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis cases (category 1) irrespective of age and sex.

Results and observations: The age & sex distribution of 100 patients showed that majority of the patients (74%) belonged to 2nd, 3rd and 4th decades & 75% were males and 25% were female with male to female ratio 3:1 respectively. The chest x-ray of 100 Smear Positive patients shows that only 60 (60%) patients had x-ray evidence of pulmonary Koch. In the present study, sputum conversion i.e. from smear positive to smear negative at the end of the 1st month is 71%, at the end of 2nd month is 84% and at the end of 3rd month is 92%. SUMMARY #ENTITYSTARTX00026;

Conclusion: In conclusion, the overall sputum conversion rate under Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course (DOTS) chemotherapy in 100 sputum smear positive Pulmonary Tuberculosis in DOTS centre, Gauhati Medical College & Hospital was 92%.The chest x-ray evidence of pulmonary Koch in 100 patients is 60%.The sputum conversion at the end of 1st month is 71%, at the end of 2nd month it is 84% and at the end of 3rd month the same is 92%. In the present study, the infectivity decreases from the baseline with significant P value for sputum conversion of 3+, 2+ and 1+ sputum positivity. Directly Observed Treatment is an effective intervention for improving adherence to tuberculosis treatment programme in a resource-poor country. A significant decrease in conversion rate was observed with the initial high grade smear positive cases. More Prospective studies on larger number of patients are necessary to sub-stantiate our findings in this study.

Keywords: 1st, 2nd & 3rd Month; DOTS & RNTCP; Sputum Conversion.

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Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Bar diagram showing sputum positivity at baseline, at the end of 1st, 2nd & 3rd month.
Fig 2
Fig 2
Percentage of the patients whose sputum became negative at the end of 1st, 2nd and 3rd month.
Fig 3
Fig 3
Percentage responders at the end of the study (Baruwa P et al)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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