Bacteriological measures for the detection of cases of pulmonary tuberculosis.

There is a need for more detailed information on the relative merits of the culture and direct sputum smear examination methods, separately and in various combinations, using one or more sputum specimens. The efficiency and relative cost of different bacteriological measures for the detection of cases of pulmonary tuberculosis, in the conditions of the Singapore tuberculosis control programme, are demonstrated. The findings provide guidance for deciding how, and in what order, these bacteriological measures should be used, and may assist planners and executives of national tuberculosis control programmes in the rational commissioning of laboratory facilities that already exist or are to be established.