Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36877714›Full record

ArticlePloS one2023

Prevalence and associated factors of delayed sputum smear conversion in patients treated for smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis: A retrospective follow up study in Sabah, Malaysia.

Linghui Amanda Khor, Ulfa Nur Izzati A Wahid, Lee Lee Ling, Sarah Michael S Liansim, Jush'n Oon, Mahendran Naidu Balakrishnan, Wei Leik Ng, Ai Theng Cheong

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 31% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Linghui Amanda KhorLuyang Health Clinic, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Ulfa Nur Izzati A WahidLuyang Health Clinic, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Lee Lee LingTamparuli Health Clinic, Tuaran, Sabah, Malaysia.
Sarah Michael S LiansimPenampang Health Clinic, Penampang, Sabah, Malaysia.
Jush'n OonPenampang Health Clinic, Penampang, Sabah, Malaysia.
Mahendran Naidu BalakrishnanPermai Polyclinic Sri Kepayan, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Wei Leik NgDepartment of Primary Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.ORCID 0000-0002-3074-9114
Ai Theng CheongDepartment of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Sabah Environmental Trust · MYTuaran Hospital · MYUniversiti Putra Malaysia · MYUniversity of Malaya · MY

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionTuberculosis remains a major health problem globally and in Malaysia, particularly in the state of Sabah. Delayed sputum conversion is associated with treatment failure, drug-resistant tuberculosis and mortality. We aimed to determine the prevalence of delayed sputum conversion among smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients and its associated factors in Sabah, Malaysia.

methodsA retrospective follow up study on all patients newly diagnosed with smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis from 2017 to 2019 was conducted at three government health clinics in Sabah, utilizing data from a national electronic tuberculosis database and medical records. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were applied for data analysis. The outcome of the study was the sputum conversion status at the end of the two-month intensive treatment phase with either successful conversion to smear negative or non-conversion.

results374 patients were included in the analysis. Our patients were generally younger than 60 years old with no medical illness and varying proportions of tuberculosis severity as judged by radiographic appearance and sputum bacillary load upon diagnosis. Foreigners constituted 27.8% of our sample. 8.8% (confidence interval: 6.2-12.2) did not convert to smear negative at the end of the intensive phase. Binary logistic regression showed that older patients ≥60 years old (adjusted odds ratio, AOR = 4.303), foreigners (AOR = 3.184) and patients with higher sputum bacillary load at diagnosis [2+ (AOR = 5.061) and 3+ (AOR = 4.992)] were more likely to have delayed sputum smear conversion.

conclusionThe prevalence of delayed sputum conversion in our study was considerably low at 8.8% with age ≥60 years old, foreigners and higher pre-treatment sputum bacillary load associated with delayed conversion. Healthcare providers should take note of these factors and ensure the patients receive proper follow up treatment.

Indexed as

BacillusLacticaseibacillus caseiTuberculosis, PulmonaryBacillotaFollow-Up StudiesHumansMalaysiaMiddle AgedPrevalenceRetrospective StudiesSputum

Identifiers

PMID36877714
PMCPMC9987811
OpenAlexW4323294035

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.