Tuberc Respir Dis.  2003 Aug;55(2):154-164. 10.4046/trd.2003.55.2.154.

Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes of Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis at a Private General Hospital

• Koh WJ
• Kwon OJ
• Kim CH
• Ahn YM
• Lim SY
• Yun JW
• Hwang JH
• Suh GY
• Chung MP
• Kim H
• Lee JW
• Suh JS

• KMID: 1516634
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2003.55.2.154

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Until the early 1990's in Korea, treatment outcomes of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in the private sector were reported to be inferior to those of the public health center under the National Tuberculosis Programme. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical characteristics and the treatment efficacy of the patients with pulmonary tuberculosis recently diagnosed at a private general hospital.
MATERIALS and METHODS
The study included all pulmonary tuberculosis patients diagnosed at Samsung Medical Center and notified to the public health center from August 2000 to January 2001.
RESULTS
Of the 232 patients included in the study during a 6-month period, 188 were (81.0%) initial treatment cases and 44 (19.0%) were re-treatment cases. Eighty-three (35.8%) patients had smear-positive sputa, and 27 (11.6%) had smear-negative, culture-positive sputa. Initial sputum examinations were not performed in 47 (20.3%) patients. A six-month, short-course treatment using isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide was prescribed for 31.4% of the patients under the initial treatment. The success rate (cured plus treatment completed) of the initial treatment for the smear-positive patients was 69.1%. Eleven (13.3%) of the 83 patients with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis discontinued their treatment without notice.
CONCLUSIONS
To improve the treatment efficacy and decrease the default rates of the patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in the private sector, further efforts are required in line with the Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Treatment Guidelines and in the implementation of an appropriate model of public-private mix for tuberculosis control in Korea.

Keyword

Pulmonary tuberculosis; Private sector; Private Practice; Diagnosis; Treatment outcome; Korea

MeSH Terms

Diagnosis
Ethambutol
Hospitals, General*
Humans
Isoniazid
Korea
Private Practice
Private Sector
Public Health
Pyrazinamide
Rifampin
Sputum
Treatment Outcome
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary*
Ethambutol
Isoniazid
Pyrazinamide
Rifampin