Evaluating related factors with sputum smear negation at the end of the second month of tuberculosis treatment

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease influencing about one-third of whole world population. Pulmonary tuberculosis constitutes more than 80% of the Tuberculosis and causes millions of death worldwide. One of the most important methods for determining the effectiveness of treatment is negative sputum smear at the end of the second month of therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate factors which influence sputum smear condition in pulmonary tuberculosis patients at the end of the second month of therapy.
This cross-sectional study was performed on patients with positive smear tuberculosis who referred to clinics under supervision of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences from September 22, 2012 to September 22, 2014. Patients` demographic and clinical data were collected from their files, and factors affecting sputum smear condition (positive/ negative) assessed by at the end of the second month of therapy were logistic regression.
From 1141 pulmonary tuberculosis patients with positive smear, 76.2% had negative smear at the end of the second month of treatment. Out of this 42.7% were female and 30.3% were male. Gender, diabetes and bacillus level at the beginning of therapy had significant influence on sputum smear condition at the end of the second month of treatment.
in tuberculosis patients the blood sugar (FBS) must be evaluated as soon as possible , and in case of diabetes the FBS must be controlled to prevent any negative effect on treatment process.