[Long-term follow-up of newly diagnosed patients with destructive pulmonary tuberculosis]

The authors present 6-year follow-up results for 884 new cases with destructive respiratory tuberculosis. The patients were from a high risk group by social, disease form and associated disease criteria. The majority of the cases (90%) were detected at diagnostic x-ray outpatient examinations. There is a rise in destructive tuberculosis detection rate in general hospitals. Treatment response rate for destructive tuberculosis may be assessed as high: bacterial discharge ceased in 90.5%, caverns closed in 86.5%, 39.2% were cured within 3 years, 33.3% improved, chronic forms developed in 10.9%, lethal outcomes occurred in 16.6% of treated patients. For 6 years the number of complete responses did not grow much.