Browsing by Author "Charles, Niruparani"

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    Course of action taken by smear negative chestsymptomatics a report from a rural area in south India.
    (2006-01) Thomas, Aleyamma; Gopi, P G; Santha, T; Jaggarajamma, K; Charles, Niruparani; Prabhakaran, E; Narayanan, P R
    Objective: To evaluate adherence to diagnostic algorithm of Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) and course of action taken by smear-negative chest symptomatics (CSs). Method: Interviewing smear-negative chest symptomatics. Results: Of the 423 smear-negative CSs interviewed, 85 (20%) were not prescribed antibiotics and only 133 (39%) received it for more than seven days. Of the 148 patients with persistence of symptoms, 83 (56%) returned for further investigations and only 39% were X-rayed. Main reasons for not returning were: ‘not aware’ or ‘consulted another health provider.’ Conclusion: Strict adherence to diagnostic algorithm and proper counselling of patients are important for diagnosing smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases.