TABLE 2.
Methodological characteristics of primary studies
| Characteristic | No. of studies (%)c |
|---|---|
| Type of respiratory specimen | |
| Sputum | 16 (46) |
| Bronchial secretions | 2 (6) |
| Mixed respiratory secretions | 17 (49) |
| AFB method | |
| Fluorescence | 11 (31) |
| Carbolfuchsin | 17 (49) |
| Unreported | 7 (20) |
| Quality of reference test | |
| At least 2 culture media | 16 (46) |
| One culture media | 13 (37) |
| Unreported | 6 (17) |
| Population of recruitment | |
| M. tuberculosis culture or suspected PTBa | 17 (49) |
| Otherb | 3 (9) |
| Suspected PTB or drug monitoring | 3 (9) |
| Unreported | 12 (35) |
| On anti-TB treatment | |
| No | 3 (9) |
| Yes | 12 (35) |
| Unreported | 20 (57) |
| Method of sample selection | |
| Consecutive or random selection | 6 (17) |
| Consecutive/case control | 1 (3) |
| Case control | 4 (11) |
| Unreported | 25 (71) |
| Data collection modality | |
| Prospective | 4 (11) |
| Retrospective | 1 (3) |
| Unreported | 30 (86) |
| Independence of observation | |
| Any blinding | 9 (26) |
| Unreported | 26 (74) |
| Clinical/demographic characteristics | |
| Reported | 2 (6) |
| Unreported | 33 (94) |
| Culture results in the control group | |
| Reported | 9 (26) |
| Unreported | 26 (74) |
a
PTB, pulmonary TB.
b
Patients (pts) with fever and chronic cough, HIV-positive pts with pulmonary infiltrates; pts with AFB-positive bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.
c
The sum of percentages is not 100% due to approximation.