Tuberc Respir Dis.  1981 Mar;28(1):12-18. 10.4046/trd.1981.28.1.12.

Follow-up of the Tuberculosis Patients who have Completed Treatment and Discharged from a Rural Health Center

• KMID: 2528864
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4046/trd.1981.28.1.12

Abstract

This study attempted to evaluate the accuracy of the judgment in determining the completion of treatment and subsequent discharge of the pulmonary tuberculosis patients from the registry at a goverÌlmental health center and also to investigate attitude( behavior towards treatment and the rate of recurrence after discharge. The tuberculosis patients who were registered for treatment and subsequently discharged from the tuberculosis registry on account of completion of treatment at Kang Hwa rural health center from January 1975 through December 1979 were eligible for this study. The number of patients responded to the study was 195 (65.2%) out of 299patients who were eligible. These patients were interviewed and examined both radiologically and bacteriologically. All the X-ray films were re-read by an experienced specialist. The major findings obtained from the study, were: 1. 15 patients (7.7%) were categorized as non-tuberculous such as normal, pneumonia, bronchitis or pleural thickening at the the time of registration. 14 (7.2%) were categorized as active pulmonary tuberculosis on radiological grounds at the time of discharge. 2. 8 patients (5. 1%) were identified as TB positive at the follow-up sputum examinations. 4(2.1%) of the inactive patients at the time of discharge showed active pulmonary lesion at the follow-up X-ray examinations. As a whole, tuberculosis has recurred in 11 patients (5.7%) when it was assumed that all the patients who had completed treatment and discharged were in fact cured at the time of discharge. 3. 39 patients (20.0%) continued taking anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy by themselves even after discharge, and only 130 patients (66.8%) thought that they were completely cured from tuberculosis.