Prevalence and diagnostic validity of chest tomography findings in patients with suspected active pulmonary tuberculosis

<b>Introduction:</b> The performance of diagnostic tests for tuberculosis (TB) varies depending on the prevalence of the disease. A research project was proposed to describe the tomographic findings of a group of patients with suspected tuberculosis in an endemic area and were contrasted with the culture results for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. <b>Methodology:</b> A study for the evaluation of diagnostic, retrospective, observational and descriptive tests was designed. Variables were obtained from clinical histories and chest tomography images over a period of 4 years. The diagnostic performance for each tomographic finding was calculated and with the best, a parallel analysis was developed. <b>Results:</b> 628 records and 880 cultures for M. tuberculosis were distributed as well; sputum (47%), bronchoalveolar lavage (33.7%), tracheal aspirate (5.5%) others (13.8%). The most prevalent findings were: free pleural effusion (50.3%) consolidation and fibrotic tracts (33.5%). The best diagnostic performance was micronodular opacities, tree in bud, apical cavitation and the nodule (table 1). <b>Conclusions:</b> For the sample studied, the absence of micronodular opacity, budding tree, apical cavitation and nodule in the chest tomography can rule out active pulmonary tuberculosis in 89.4% of cases