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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 2002, p. 3482-3484, Vol. 40, No. 9
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.9.3482-3484.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Are Three Sputum Acid-Fast Bacillus Smears Necessary for Discontinuing Tuberculosis Isolation?

Philip Mathew,1* Yen-Hong Kuo,2 Bindu Vazirani,1,{dagger} Robert H. K. Eng,3 and Melvin P. Weinstein1,4

Departments of Medicine,1 Pathology, University of MedicineDentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901,4 Department of Research, Jersey Shore Medical Center, Meridian Health System, Neptune, New Jersey 07753 ,2 Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, East Orange, New Jersey 070183

Received 19 February 2002/ Returned for modification 14 March 2002/ Accepted 24 June 2002

To evaluate the efficacy of three sputum acid-fast bacillus (AFB) smears to rule out pulmonary tuberculosis, sputum AFB smear and culture results were analyzed at two university-affiliated teaching hospitals. The negative predictive value of the smear increased by only 0.2% on days 2 and 3 each, indicating that in low-prevalence populations, there is limited value in requiring three negative sputum AFB smears before discontinuing tuberculosis isolation.

* Corresponding author. Present address: MDS Pharma Services, 1930 Heck Ave., Bldg. 2, Neptune, NJ 07753. Phone: (732) 502-4950. Fax: (732) 502-4869. E-mail: philip.mathew{at}mdsps.com.

{dagger} Present address: Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ 07601.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 2002, p. 3482-3484, Vol. 40, No. 9
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.9.3482-3484.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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