A STUDY OF SPUTUM CONVERSION IN NEW SMEAR POSITIVE PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS CASES AT THE MONTHLY INTERVALS OF 1ST, 2ND & 3RD MONTH UNDER DIRECTLY OBSERVED TREATMENT, SHORT COURSE (DOTS) REGIMEN

Aims and Objectives : To determine sputum conversion rate at monthly intervals of 1st, 2nd and 3rd month in new smear positive cases (cat-1) under treatment under RNTCP. Material and Methods : The study was conducted at DOTS Center, Gauhati Medical College and Hospital; Guwahati between July 2005 to June 2006.The study is a prospec-tive study and consists of 100 cases of new smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis cases (category 1) irrespective of age and sex. Results and Observations : The age sex distribution of 100 patients showed that majority of the patients (74%) belonged to 2nd, 3rd and 4th decades 75% were males and 25% were female with male to female ratio 3:1 respectively. The chest x-ray of 100 Smear Positive patients shows that only 60 (60%) patients had x-ray evidence of pulmonary Koch. In the present study, sputum conversion i.e. from smear positive to smear negative at the end of the 1st month is 71%, at the end of 2nd month is 84% and at the end of 3rd month is 92%. Summary Conclusion : In conclusion, the overall sputum conversion rate under Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course (DOTS) chemotherapy in 100 sputum smear positive Pulmonary Tuberculosis in DOTS centre, Gauhati Medical College Hospital was 92%.The chest x-ray evidence of pulmonary Koch in 100 patients is 60%.The sputum conversion at the end of 1st month is 71%, at the end of 2nd month it is 84% and at the end of 3rd month the same is 92%. In the present study, the infectivity decreases from the baseline with significant P value for sputum conversion of 3, 2 and 1 sputum positivity. Directly Observed Treatment is an effective intervention for improving adherence to tuberculosis treatment programme in a resource-poor country. A significant decrease in conversion rate was observed with the initial high grade smear positive cases.