فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

Background: Tuberculosis is a chronic pulmonary infectious disease that has affected one-third of the people in the world. It causes nine million new cases and two million deaths per year. Chest radiography associated with Ziehl-Neelsen acid-fast staining procedure significantly helps the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Chest radiography can help the diagnosis of tuberculosis in patients with a negative smear sample result that is mainly diagnosed with delay. Objectives: In this study, chest X-ray findings of PTB were compared in two groups of smear positive and smear negative patients. Results: Except reticulo-nodular infiltration, the relative frequency of other radiographic findings in positive smear patients were more than negative smear patients; and only differences in calcification variables, mediastinal widening, patchy infiltration and hilar adenopathy were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, although radiographic findings are not diagnostic in PTB, they are helpful if the assessment associates with the view of clinical manifestations and sputum smears.