Tuberculosis (TB) remains a large-scale public health problem. Key global priorities for TB care and control include improving case-detection and detecting patients earlier, particularly patients with smear-negative TB disease. This document provides a pragmatic summary of the evidence and recommendation...

Texto completo

Direct sputum smear microscopy is the most widely used means for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and is available in most primary health-care laboratories at health-centre level. Smear microscopy may, however, be costly and inconvenient for patients, who have to make multiple visits to healt...

Texto completo

Since the publication of the Tuberculosis handbook by the World Health Organization in 1998, important changes have taken place in the global context in which control of tuberculosis (TB) is carried out. Firstly, the DOTS strategy has been adopted by virtually all countries during the past decade, althou...

Texto completo