Same-day smears in the diagnosis of tuberculosis.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of completing the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in 1 day by collecting only on-the-spot specimens.

Methods: Individuals with suspected TB attending district hospitals in Abuja submitted three sputum samples for routine diagnosis (the standard approach). One additional sample was collected 1 h after the first sputum (the same-day approach). One sputum sample was cultured. Blood samples were tested for HIV.

Results: Two hundred and twenty-four patients with chronic cough had 135/672 (20%) positive on-the-spot smears and 47/224 (21%) positive morning smears. The same-day and internationally recommended approaches identified 44 and 45 of the 78 patients with positive cultures, respectively. 106/194 (55%) patients were HIV positive. Only 9-11% of their smears were positive compared with 30-32% for HIV negatives (P < 0.01).

Conclusion: It could be possible to diagnose TB in a single day by examining two spot specimens, but the feasibility needs to be confirmed on a larger scale.