Setting: A referral hospital for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Objective: To investigate how self-reporting of past exposure to anti-tuberculosis therapy in MDR-TB patients relates to their chest radiographs.
Results: Chest radiographs of 406 patients with bacteriologically confirmed MDR-TB who were admitted to a tertiary referral hospital during 1998-2001 were reviewed. Of 245 patients with chronic radiographic changes, 91% reported previous anti-tuberculosis treatment, while of 161 patients with acute radiographic changes, 70% reported no previous history of TB treatment.
Conclusion: Self-reporting by patients of previous anti-tuberculosis treatment relates to the duration of disease assessed radiologically, and is much more reliable than previously postulated.