Abstract

Setting:

Tuberculosis clinic of a chest disease and chest surgery edu­cation and research hospital. Objective: Determination of the reliability of acid-fast stain and culture of gastric aspiration in diagnosis of pa­tients who cannot expectorate sputum and in smear-negative patients.

Design:

1115 patients were hospitalized for pulmonary tuberculosis between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 2003. From these patients, results of gastric aspiration of 55 patients who had clinical and radio­logical evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis without sputum complaint and 60 smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis cases were evaluated retrospectively from the laboratory records.

Results:

Of 55 patients with no sputum, gastric aspiration smears were positive in 17 (30.9%) and gastric aspiration cultures were positive in 24 (43.6%) patients. Twenty-nine (52.7%) patients had either positive acid-fast stain or cul­ture. Of the 60 smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis patients, gas­tric aspiration smears were positive for acid-fast bacilli in 14 (23.3%) and gastric aspiration cultures were positive in 10 (16.7%) patients. Nineteen (31.7%) of the gastric aspiration specimens were positive for acid-fast bacilli on either smear or culture.

Conclusion:

Examina­tion of gastric aspiration for acid-fast bacilli is an important diagnostic tool for smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis patients or in patients with the suspicion of pulmonary tuberculosis who cannot expectorate sputum.