?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Effect+of+duration+of+cough+(%E2%89%A53+weeks+Vs+%E2%89%A52+weeks)+on+yield+of+sputum+positive+tuberculosis+cases+and+laboratory+load&rft.creator=Nimbarte%2C+SB&rft.creator=Deshmukh%2C+PR&rft.creator=Mehendale%2C+AM&rft.creator=Garg%2C+BS&rft.subject=Online+Journal+of+Health+and+Allied+Sciences&rft.description=Background+%26+objective%3A+Early+detection+and+prompt+treatment+is+the+basis+of+tuberculosis+control+through+reducing+the+reservoir+of+infection.+The+objective+of+the+present+study+was+to+study+the+effect+of+reducing+the+screening+criteria+of+chest+symptomatics+from+existing+%E2%89%A5+3+weeks+to+%E2%89%A5+2+weeks+on+case+detection+of+smear+positive+tuberculosis+and+laboratory+load.+Methods%3A+The+present+cross-sectional+study+was+carried+out+at+General+Out-Patient+Department+(GOPD)+of+Kasturba+Hospital%2C+Sewagram.+All+the+chest+symptomatics+with+cough+of+two+weeks+or+more+than+two+weeks+duration+attending+in+GOPD+were+screened+for+pulmonary+tuberculosis+by+examining+the+three+sputum+smears+in+designated+microscopy+center+as+per+RNTCP+guidelines.+The+data+was+entered+and+analyzed+using+epi_info+6.04d.+Results%3A+Number+of+sputum+positive+cases+detected+using+RNTCP+guideline+(cough+%E2%89%A5+3+weeks)+for+screening+the+chest+symptomatic+for+AFB+was+104.+When%2C+the+screening+guideline+was+modified+from+cough+%E2%89%A5+3+weeks+duration+to+cough+%E2%89%A5+2+weeks+duration%2C+it+yielded+138+cases.+The+yield+of+sputum+positive+cases+of+tuberculosis+was+increased+by+32.7%25.+This+also+increased+the+laboratory+load+by+54.8%25.+Conclusion%3A+The+modifications+of+existing+screening+criteria+from+cough+%E2%89%A5+3+weeks+to+cough+%E2%89%A5+2+weeks+increased+the+yield+of+sputum+positive+cases+by+1.3+times+and+the+laboratory+(microscopy+center)+load+by+1.5+times&rft.publisher=Kakkilaya+BS&rft.contributor=Kakkilaya%2C+Dr.+Srinivas&rft.date=2009-09-08&rft.type=Journal+(On-line%2FUnpaginated)&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6673%2F1%2F2009-2-7.pdf&rft.identifier=++Nimbarte%2C+SB+and+Deshmukh%2C+PR+and+Mehendale%2C+AM+and+Garg%2C+BS++(2009)+Effect+of+duration+of+cough+(%E2%89%A53+weeks+Vs+%E2%89%A52+weeks)+on+yield+of+sputum+positive+tuberculosis+cases+and+laboratory+load.++%5BJournal+(On-line%2FUnpaginated)%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6673%2F