Smear Positive Pulmonary Tuberculosis (TB) Patients Suspected to Have Drug Resistant TB in Programmatic Management of Drug Resistant TB Unit in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

[Background]Tuberculosis remains a major health problem with more than 3 million deaths and 9 million new cases annually. Pakistan ranks 5^th in the top 22 tuberculosis burden countries. Prevalence of all tuberculosis cases is 342 per 100,000 individuals in Pakistan.[Objectives]The objective of the present study was to assess the frequency and pattern of tuberculosis in a population from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.[Methods]This prospective study was conducted in programmatic management of drug resistant tuberculosis unit lady reading hospital Peshawar, Pakistan between January, 2014 and December, 2014. A total of 1330 specimens from suspected drug resistant tuberculosis patients were analyzed by light-emitting diodes-fluorescence microscopy (LED-FM). The SPSS 18 software was used for data analysis.[Results]Of the 1330 drug resistant tuberculosis suspect patients tested by LED-FM microscopy, 824 (62%) were smear positive for Mycobacterium and 306 (38%) were negative. Mean age was 30.92 ± 14.91 years. Out of smear positive cases, 462 (56.1%) were female, 722 (87.6%) were previously treated, and 446 (54.1%) were in < 30 years old. A statistically significant association was observed between female gender, previous tuberculosis treatment, and age category (< 30 years) with smear positive results.[Conclusions]Female gender, previous treatment, and young age (< 30 years) were significantly associated with smear positivity. Early detection and effective treatment of active tuberculosis cases is of paramount importance to reduce the burden of tuberculosis. Light-emitting diodes- fluorescence microscopy is the best method for early diagnosis of tuberculosis if performed by an experienced microbiologist, as it is reliable and inexpensive.