Assessment of sputum smear-positive but culture-negative results among newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Tanzania

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dc.contributor.authorMnyambwa, Nicholaus Peter
dc.contributor.authorNgadaya, Esther S
dc.contributor.authorKimaro, Godfather
dc.contributor.authorKim, Dong-Jin
dc.contributor.authorKazwala, Rudovick
dc.contributor.authorPetrucka, Pammla
dc.contributor.authorMfinanga, Sayoki G
dc.date.accessioned2026-03-18T05:24:18Z
dc.date.available2026-03-18T05:24:18Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.descriptionJournal article
dc.description.abstractDiagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in technology-limited countries is widely achieved by smear microscopy, which has limited sensitivity and specificity. The frequency and clinical implication of smear-positive but culture-negative among presumptive TB patients remains unclear. A cross-sectional substudy was conducted which aimed to identify the proportion of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections among 94 “smear-positive culture-negative” patients diagnosed between January 2013 and June 2016 in selected health facilities in Tanzania. Out of 94 sputa, 25 (26.60%) were GeneXpert® mycobacteria TB positive and 11/94 (11.70%) repeat-culture positive; 5 were Capilia TB-Neo positive and confirmed by GenoType MTBC to be Mycobacterium tuberculosis/Mycobacterium canettii. The remaining 6 Capilia TB-Neo negative samples were genotyped by GenoType® CM/AS, identifying 3 (3.19%) NTM, 2 Gram positive bacteria, and 1 isolate testing negative, together, making a total of 6/94 (6.38%) confirmed false smear-positives. Twenty-eight (29.79%) were confirmed TB cases, while 60 (63.83%) remained unconfirmed cases. Out of 6 (6.38%) patients who were HIV positive, 2 patients were possibly coinfected with mycobacteria. The isolation of NTM and other bacteria among smear-positive culture-negative samples and the presence of over two third of unconfirmed TB cases emphasize the need of both advanced differential TB diagnostic techniques and good clinical laboratory practices to avoid unnecessary administration of anti-TB drugs.
dc.description.sponsorshipWorld Bank and DELTAS Africa Initiative [Afrique One-ASPIRE /DEL-15-008]
dc.identifier.citationhttps://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S137469
dc.identifier.issn1178-7074
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.suaire.sua.ac.tz/handle/20.500.14820/7429
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherDove Press
dc.relation.ispartofseriesInternational Journal of General Medicine 2017:10 199–205
dc.subjectNontuberculous mycobacteria
dc.subjectPulmonary TB
dc.subjectSmear-positive
dc.subjectCulture-negative
dc.subjectTuberculosis diagnosis
dc.titleAssessment of sputum smear-positive but culture-negative results among newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Tanzania
dc.typeArticle

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