New Delhi, Oct 28 || Commonly used chest X-rays, based on symptoms, are inadequate to detect asymptomatic tuberculosis (TB) infection among household contacts, according to a study published in the journal The Lancet Global Health.
Researchers from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, conducted systematic screening with universal sputum microbiological testing of 979 household contacts of people with pulmonary tuberculosis in three South African communities.
They compared tuberculosis symptom (any duration) and chest radiograph (any abnormality indicative of active tuberculosis) screening approaches against a microbiological reference standard.
The team confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis in 5·2 per cent of household contacts, and 82·4 per cent of these reported no symptoms. Alarmingly, the chest radiographs were not able to detect 40 per cent of the cases.