OBJECTIVE To assess the feasibility of a streamlined strategy for improving tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic evaluation and treatment initiation among patients with presumed TB. DESIGN Single-arm interventional pilot study at five primary care health centers of a streamlined, SIngle-saMPLE (SIMPLE) TB diagnostic evaluation strategy: 1) examination of two smear results from a single spot sputum sp...

The patient's diet has been considered an important etiological factor of dentin hypersensitivity. The frequent ingestion of acidic substances can promote the loss of dental structure or remove the smear layer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of smear layer removal and dentinal tubules exposure by different natural orange juices. Extracted human teeth were submitted to manu...

BACKGROUND While smear positive patients with tuberculosis (TB) are considered more infectious than smear negative patients, the latter can also transmit TB. METHODS In a molecular epidemiology study of 791 patients in the Greater Vancouver regional district, the number of episodes of TB transmission from two groups of smear negative clustered patients by RFLP (assumed to be involved in recen...

The lack of healthcare access contributes to large numbers of tuberculosis (TB) cases being missed and has led to renewed interest in outreach approaches to increase detection. It is however unclear whether outreach activities increase case detection or merely identify patients before they attend health facilities. We compared adults with cough of >2 weeks' duration recruited in health faciliti...

AIMS The aims of this study were: 1) to assess the level of knowledge of women about Pap smear tests, 2) to determine the practices of women regarding Pap smear tests, and 3) to determine the barriers to Pap smear tests in Elmina, Ghana. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted with 392 randomly selected sexually active females aged 10-74 years using structured interview questions. The I...

SETTING Sputum samples were collected from suspected tuberculosis patients attending out-patient clinics at the Ojha Institute of Chest Diseases, Karachi, Pakistan. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the performance of the FASTPlaqueTB assay for rapid diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. DESIGN A comparative study of 584 sputum samples using acid-fast smear microscopy, Lowenstein-Jensen culture and FAST...

Background: While smear positive patients with tuberculosis (TB) are considered more infectious than smear negative patients, the latter can also transmit TB. Methods: In a molecular epidemiology study of 791 patients in the Greater Vancouver regional district, the number of episodes of TB transmission from two groups of smear negative clustered patients by RFLP (assumed to be involved in recen...

SETTING Adult patients with tuberculosis (TB) recruited at the chest clinic of the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, from 2003 to 2004. OBJECTIVE To identify factors associated with delayed treatment or hospitalisation. DESIGN A cross-sectional survey of newly identified adult patients with TB. RESULTS A total of 223 patients were included in the analysis. Patients with smea...

UNLABELLED Background Research in the US and UK shows that lesbian women are less likely than their heterosexual peers to attend for routine Pap smear tests. This study examined Pap smear test rates among community-attached lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) women in New South Wales (NSW), to investigate if rates had changed between 2002 and 2012, compare rates to the general NSW population and ...

A retrospective observational study was performed to determine the sensitivity and limitation of PCR test for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. avium complex. We obtained clinical specimens collected from the respiratory tract, cultured M. tuberculosis or M. avium complex, and performed PCR analysis. A total of 299 samples (M. tuberculosis, 177; M. avium, 35; M. intracellulare,...