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Mortality in smear-negative tuberculosis patients in Phalombe

2004; University of Malawi College of Medicine; Volume: 14; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4314/mmj.v14i2.10760

1995-7270

JCJ Calis, ML Bakker, RB Elens, Martien W. Borgdorff, A D Harries,

Mycobacterium research and diagnosis

In two hospitals in Malawi, where HIV prevalence among tuberculosis patients is 80-90%, the treatment outcome in patients registered with smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis was determined in relation to chest x-ray (CXR) findings and certain laboratory parameters. Of 70 patients who were registered and treated, 32 (46%) were known to have died. Mortality was particularly high in those with a normal / minimally abnormal CXR (62%) and in those with a white cell count of less than 3.5 × 109 /l (77%). The reasons for this high mortality among patients with smear-negative PTB are not known and requires more research.