Comparison of Acid Fast Bacilli Smear and Culture for the Diagnosis of Extra-Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Authors

  • Basista Rijal SAARC TB Centre, Thimi, Kathmandu
  • P Ghimire Central Department of Microbiology, Kirtipur, Kathmandu,
  • N R Tuladhar Maharajgunj Campus, Kathmandu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.489

Abstract

The study was conducted with the objectives to compare the Acid Fast Bacilli (AFB) staining and Culture for the diagnosis of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis and to find out the burden of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis from the different site of the body in suspected TB patients. The standard Ziehl-Neelsen Technique was done for AFB staining and culture was done in Ogawa Medium. Of the 292 extra-pulmonary samples examined by AFB smear only 2(0.7%) were positive and of the 1058 extra-pulmonary samples cultured 20 (1.9%) were positive. The isolation rate for extra-pulmonary samples was three fold higher in culture in comparison to AFB Smear. The confirmation rate of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis was approximately 1/ 8th of the pulmonary tuberculosis by conventional bacteriological diagnostic methods. Of the extra-pulmonary tuberculosis renal, endometrial or pelvic and cold abscess were common in this study. M.tuberculosis was also isolated from peritoneal fluid, pericardial fluid, Synovial fluid, lymph node and cerebro spinal fluids only by culture. In conclusion, the standard AFB culture has significant role for diagnosis of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, even though the conventional bacteriological technique could diagnose very low number of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. The new methods of diagnosis should be considered to confirm more extra- pulmonary  tuberculosis.

Key Words: Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, AFB Smear, Culture, Diagnosis, Nepal.

Downloads

Published

2004-09-01

How to Cite

Rijal, B., Ghimire, P., & Tuladhar, N. R. (2004). Comparison of Acid Fast Bacilli Smear and Culture for the Diagnosis of Extra-Pulmonary Tuberculosis. Journal of Nepal Medical Association, 43(155). https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.489

Issue

Vol. 43 No. 155 (2004)

Section

Original Article

License

JNMA allow to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of its articles and allow readers to use them for any other lawful purpose. The author(s) are allowed to retain publishing rights without restrictions. The JNMA work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. More about Copyright Policy.