Delayed suspicion, treatment and isolation of tuberculosis patients in pulmonology/infectious diseases and non-pulmonology/infectious diseases wards.

Background/purpose: Delayed diagnosis and isolation increases the risk of nosocomial transmission of tuberculosis (TB). To assess the risk of delayed management of TB, we analyzed the risk factors of prolonged delay in isolation of smear-positive TB patients in pulmonology/infectious diseases and other wards in a tertiary teaching hospital.

Methods: We enrolled smear-positive TB patients aged > 16 years with delayed respiratory isolation following hospitalization.