Investigating the quality of expectorated sputum for tuberculosis diagnosis in Bolivia.
Hernández, P;
Punchak, M;
Camacho, M;
Hepple, P;
McNerney, R;
(2015)
Investigating the quality of expectorated sputum for tuberculosis diagnosis in Bolivia.
The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease, 19 (9).
pp. 1065-1067.
ISSN 1027-3719
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5588/ijtld.14.0700
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A low-power microscope-based cytological system to assess the quality of expectorated sputum provided for tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis was piloted in Bolivia. A total of 3688 samples were subjected to visual and cytological examination in nine laboratories: of these, 591 (16%) were misclassified by visual examination and 294 (8%) were found to be degraded. The degree of discordance varied between locations, and laboratories received a higher number of degraded specimens from isolated health clinics. Cytological assessment of sputum was found to be feasible and identified areas for improvement in the Bolivian diagnostic system for TB.