Table 1.

Types of uncertainties associated with tuberculosis

Sign	Types of uncertainty	Description
Coughing	Ignorance	Most patients ignore coughing since they consider it is related to a common disease
	Imprecision	Most patients ignore coughing since they consider it is related to a common disease
	Incompleteness	“Sputum smear microscopy” is the primary method to diagnose pulmonary TB. However, the method is unable to detect half of all active TB cases
Coughing up blood	Ignorance	Sometimes blood remains unnoticed due to thick and larger amount of phlegm
Fatigue	Imprecision, vagueness, ambiguity	People consider fatigue as a normal symptom of overworking and do not consult with doctor
Prolonged fever	Ignorance, vagueness, randomness	Usually patients can not exactly tell the duration and temperature when doctor asks about the fever
Night sweating	Ignorance, vagueness	Most people think that warm weather, humidity or wearing heavy cloths are liable for night sweating and hide the symptom from the doctor