Delays in diagnosis and isolation raise the possibility of nosocomial tuberculosis transmission (TB). We examined the risk variables of lengthy delays in isolation of smear-positive TB patients in pulmonology/infectious diseases and other wards at a tertiary teaching hospital to assess the danger of delayed care of the disease. After being admitted to the hospital, we enrolled older smear-positive TB patients who had undergone delayed respiratory isolation. Retrospective review of medical records was performed.
Key Words: Screening, tuberculosis, pleural disease, interventional pulmonology. Between pulmonology/infectious diseases wards (PIWs) and other wards, the times between admission, the sequence of sputum acid-fast staining, the start of anti-tuberculous treatment, and isolation were compared. Patients with a week-long delayed isolation delay underwent individual group analyses of risk variables. In hospitalised TB patients with positive smear tests, isolation was postponed. In PIWs, day was the median for suspicion, treatment, and isolation delays.
