Impact of microbiological non-confirmation of M. tuberculosis infection on treatment outcome in adults with pulmonary tuberculosis

Abstract

Introduction. Worldwide, about one third of all tuberculosis (TB) cases miss microbiological confirmation. In these patients TB diagnosis relies on clinical and imaging criteria. The potential impact of microbiological non-confirmation on TB treatment outcome needs to be assessed. Purpose. To compare treatment outcome in TB patients without microbiological confirmation (TBWM) with those in microbiologically proven TB (TBPM) in a high incidence MDR-TB setting. Conclusions. Treatment outcome in TBWM are not inferior to those in TBCM, these data are different of those reported from areas with a low incidence of MDR TB.