RADIOLOGICAL AND GENE-EXPERT PATTERN: IN RELATION WITH TREATMENT OUTCOME OF SENSITIVE AND RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS

Even if there are so many diagnostic tests available for the detection of tuberculosis, still the diagnosis of TB is a challenging problem in this decade due to differences or non-specificity in symptoms, radiological signs, false negatives, and positives. Chest X-ray can identify the location, area, and morphology of lesions; hence analyzed the pattern and relation of chest X-ray and Gene expert results. This was a retrospective observational study conducted in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. The study included both drug-resistant and sensitive patients in two groups from the period 2016-2019 and 2017-2019. The study excluded HIV patients from both groups. Only professionally interpreted data were entered into the study analysis. All privacy and confidentiality were ensured throughout the study under direct observation of the district TB center. The left lung was more affected in DS-TB (76.47%), and the right side was more infected in DR-TB (65%). The predominant infiltration (24.21%), cavity (22.22%), and Non-homogenous opacity (26.47%) were seen in the left middle zone, whereas consolidation (24.63%) was high in the left upper zone. In DR-TB cases, the upper zone had high predominance with non-homogenous opacity leading to 37.89%. When looking into Gene expert, an additional 8% false-negative reporting was identified. The bacterial load in both DS and DR TB was found to be of a medium-severe level. An expert can identify TB using a chest X-ray which allows rapid diagnosis and effective management in many cases, especially when it cannot be confirmed by a bacteriological test.