Changes in Diagnostic Methods for Pulmonary Tuberculosis between 2005 and 2013.
10.4046/trd.2015.78.3.227
- Author:
Bin AHN
1
;
Joohae KIM
;
Chul Gyu YOO
;
Young Whan KIM
;
Sung Koo HAN
;
Jae Joon YIM
Author Information
1. Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. yimjj@snu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary;
Diagnosis;
Bronchoscopy;
Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques
- MeSH:
Bronchoscopy;
Developed Countries;
Diagnosis;
Diagnostic Tests, Routine;
DNA;
Humans;
Korea;
Methods*;
Mycobacterium tuberculosis;
Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques;
Polymerase Chain Reaction;
Tertiary Care Centers;
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary*
- From:Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
2015;78(3):227-231
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
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). CONCLUSION: The initiation of treatment for pulmonary TB in South Korea has become more frequently based on PCR and the use of bronchoscopic specimens.
