Follow-up of patients with tuberculosis treated in a general hospital program. Treatment largely as outpatients by...

As of December 1975, there had been 5 to 8 1/2 years of observation on 263 patients with bacteriologically proven tuberculosis who were initially admitted to a general hospital and were treated largely as outpatients by community physicians from July 1967 through December 1970. Ten patients died during hospitalization, and 253 were released to therapy as outpatients. Although smears or cultures of sputum remained positive at discharge in 136 (54 percent) of the 253 patients, no new infections were subsequently detected among their contacts. During initial therapy, 24 patients died of causes other than tuberculosis. Of the remaining 229 patients, the original 18-month treatment was successful in 197 (86 percent). The treatment failed initially in 11 patients, eight of whom represented relapses from previous therapy. During long-term follow-up of the 229 patients, there were only six relapses (3 percent) after the initial success. An overall rate of successful treatment of 92 percent (211/229) was achieved in the program, with 18 failures of treatment (8 percent); ie, 11 patients were lost to supervision, four died of tuberculosis, and in three, treatment was never successful.