I.  Introduction

Tuberculosis remains a significant threat to global health, contributing to a

total of 1.77 million deaths in 2007, and corresponding to about 4,800 deaths a

day. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are more than 14

million people living with TB. In the Philippines, TB is the 6th leading cause of 

illness and the 6th leading cause of deaths among Filipinos in 2007. Most of the

TB patients in the country belong to the economically productive age group (15-

54 years old).

A high incidence of tuberculosis is seen among patients in mental institutions.

Transmission rates of tuberculosis among the mentally-ill population can be as

high as sixteen-times more than that of the general population, in addition to a

greater risk of dissemination of multidrug-resistant forms of TB in hospitals. It is,

therefore, imperative that prompt diagnosis of TB be executed in order to control

and reduce the transmission of M. tuberculosis. However, it has been known that

obtaining adequate sputum specimen for bacteriologic confirmation of the

disease is rarely achieved due to patients’ aggressive or uncooperative behavior.

Because of this, X-ray studies have become the primary means of detecting

tuberculosis in patients with mental disorders.

The National Tuberculosis Control program of the Department of Health

upholds direct sputum smear examination as the primary diagnostic tool in NTP

case finding. A diagnosis of tuberculosis cannot be made on the basis of other

examinations, such as Chest X-ray results alone or PPD skin tests. Although

preferred, the applicability of direct sputum smear examination to mentally-ill

patients is questionable due to the aforementioned difficulties. This study aims

to identify the percentage of patients in the National Center for Mental Health

who is able to provide a viable sputum sample for the microbiologic diagnosis of 

tuberculosis.

 

 

Research Plan

Investigator/s Seludo et.al.

Research Question

Among patients admitted in the Tuberculosis Pavilion of the

National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) for the period of June

2010-June 2011,

diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) through Chest

radiography, what is the success rate of sputum collection?

Objectives General Objective:

The general objective of this study is to determine the

percentage of successful sputum collection among patients of 

the NCMH-TB Pavilion diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Specific Objectives:

i.  To determine the percentage of patients in the TB pavilion,

who can provide an adequate sample for sputum smear

microscopy

ii.  To determine the prevalence of sputum smear positive

patients in NCMH

Study Design Cross-sectional/ Descriptive Study

Study Population Patients admitted in the National Center for Mental Health who are:

1)  18-60 years old

2)  Male or female

3)  Diagnosed cases of pulmonary tuberculosis through chest X-

ray