A comparison of two methods of sputum collection in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis.
Andrews, R.H.; Radhakrishna, S.
Tubercle; 1959; 40; 155-162.
It is generally accepted that a specimen of sputum collected over a period of hours, whether an overnight specimen or a twenty four hour specimen, is more valuable for the identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis than one produced immediately upon request (Kolmer and Boerner, 1945; McIntosh and Whitby, 1930). In a hospital or an established outpatient clinic there should be little difficulty in collecting an overnight specimen, but in less favourable circumstances, such as may be encountered in diagnostic and survey work under field conditions, it may only be practicable to obtain an immediate specimen in the clinic or home. it is therefore important to know what percentage of positive findings can be obtained from such specimens compared with overnight specimens. The present report gives the results of a comparison of these two types of specimens collected from patients at the Tuberculosis Chemotherapy Centre, Madras.
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