Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of smear-negative PTB suspects (n = 205)
| Characteristics | Frequency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
|
Socio-demographics | ||
| Females |
105 |
51.2 |
| Never smoked |
140 |
68.2 |
| Smoked |
65 |
31.8 |
|
Clinical parameters as reported by patients | ||
| Cough (>2 weeks) |
205 |
100 |
| Fever and/or night sweats |
193 |
94.1 |
| Weight loss |
191 |
93.2 |
| Wheezing |
42 |
20.5 |
| Difficulty in breathing |
130 |
63.4 |
| Blood in sputum |
57 |
30.1 |
| Antibiotic exposure in previous 2 weeks |
84 |
41.0 |
|
Clinical examination (physical) | ||
| Body temperature (°C)* |
|
|
| <37.5 |
113 |
57.4 |
| ≥37.5 |
84 |
42.6 |
| ≤20 |
45 |
23.6 |
| >20 |
146 |
76.4 |
| Oxygen saturation (% measured by a pulseoximeter)* |
|
|
| ≤90 |
47 |
23.1 |
| >90 |
156 |
76.9 |
| Pulse rate, beats/min (measured by a pulseoximeter) |
|
|
| Median rate (percentile range) |
106 (88 to119) |
|
| Lung examination |
|
|
| Normal (clear chest) |
49 |
23.9 |
| Abnormal (Rhonchi, crepitation, bronchial breathing, absent breath sounds) |
156 |
76.1 |
| HIV status |
|
|
| Positive |
176 |
85.9 |
| Negative |
29 |
14.1 |
| CD4 Cell Count* (cell/ml) |
|
|
| ≤ 200 |
127 |
76 |
| >200 | 40 | 24 |
*Some measurements missing.