[The present condition of patient's, doctor's and total delays in tuberculosis case-finding and countermeasures in the future]

Abstract

The incidence of tuberculosis has reduced in Japan, but the slowing down in the rate of decrease of the incidence was pointed, and this tendency is a severe problem in the tuberculosis control. Tuberculosis is considered as a disease of the past, and patient's delay and doctor's delay have gotten very long. The risk of infection with other people is on the increase, consequently, that is one of the causes of the slowing down in the rate of decrease of the incidence. The purpose of this study is clearing up the problems of patient's and doctor's delay, investigating 1274 patients diagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis in our hospital for five years. In the cases detected their symptomatic visit and received primary treatment of tuberculosis, the alive cases, when they released from our hospital, were 584 cases. In the cases, some cases, who went to a hospital soon after they felt some symptoms, tended to not be diagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis in their early stage. Other cases, who didn't go to a hospital until they had severe symptoms, tended to be diagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis promptly. So, finally, total delay tended to be very long. We pointed out some cases, who detected by health check and neglected their visit to any hospitals, and after long times, went to hospitals with symptoms. They were the source of pulmonary tuberculosis to other people. And they didn't have sufficient family contact examination. In the dead cases, 47 cases were died of pulmonary tuberculosis, and their term of hospitalization was very short and their status were extremely severe.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)