Initial management of pulmonary tuberculosis in Lusaka, 1976

The records of 395 patients diagnosed in the Lusaka UTH as having pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in 1976 were examined. A total of 4,308 patient days were spent by 319 TB patients on treatment at UTH: average 12 beds a day. Thirty (8%) absconded from the UTH: 80% were later transferred to Kabwe or Kafue Gorge. Initial diagnosis was made by smear only in 71% of cases; the known resistance rate in Zambia is about 25%. Treatment was variable: 86% were started on streptomycin and thiazine, about 50% of sputum-negative cases on triple regimes, and old cases were also sometimes restarted on streptomycin and thiazine. Ways of advancing TB control in Lusaka were suggested.