Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the study population.
| Characteristic Frequency (%) | Non-TB (n = 182) | SPCP (n = 112) | SNCP (n = 100) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age group | 0.016 | |||
| 18–24 years | 22 (14) | 35 (31) | 19 (19) | |
| 25–35 years | 43 (28) | 25 (22) | 24 (24) | |
| 36–45 years | 39 (25) | 29 (26) | 32 (32) | |
| 46 years and older | 52 (33) | 23 (21) | 25 (25) | |
| Age in years: Mean (SD) | 40 (15) | 34 (11) | 37 (37) | 0.005 |
| Male | 79 (51) | 87 (74) | 68 (68) | <0.001 * |
| Cigarette Smoker | 42 (27) | 61 (54) | 35 (35) | <0.001 * |
| Country ** | ||||
| Viet Nam | 72 (40) | 71 (58) | 40 (40) | |
| South Africa | 110 (60) | 51 (42) | 60 (60) | |
| Alcohol consumption | 0.008 | |||
| No | 88 (72) | 50 (47) | 51 (61) | |
| Less | 25 (20) | 41 (38) | 19 (23) | |
| Weekly | 6 (5) | 10 (9) | 12 (14) | |
| Daily | 3 (2) | 6 (6) | 2 (2) | |
| Frequent to intoxication | 2 (2) | 2 (2) | 1 (1) | |
| HIV positive ** | 50 (27) | 49 (40) | 50 (50) | |
| Clinical symptoms and Medical History | ||||
| Cough duration | <0.001 * | |||
| 1–4 weeks | 97 (78) | 52 (48) | 55 (71) | |
| 5–10 weeks | 17 (14) | 33 (30) | 15 (19) | |
| 11 weeks or longer | 10 (8) | 24 (22) | 7 (9) | |
| Cough duration (weeks): Mean (SD) | 7 (28) | 10 (18) | 5 (5) | <0.001 * |
| Expectoration | 93 (98) | 66 (97) | 51 (94) | 0.512 |
| Haemoptysis | 19 (12) | 16 (14) | 15 (15) | 0.773 |
| Dsypnea | 62 (40) | 44 (39) | 53 (53) | 0.068 |
| Night sweats | 88 (56) | 70 (63) | 68 (69) | 0.141 |
| Weight loss | 95 (61) | 78 (70) | 70 (71) | 0.178 |
| Fever above 38 °C | 76 (49) | 74 (66) | 67 (68) | 0.002 * |
| Chest pain | 79 (51) | 65 (58) | 66 (67) | 0.041 |
| Malaise | 95 (61) | 73 (65) | 70 (71) | 0.277 |
| Wasting | 12 (8) | 21 (19) | 28 (28) | <0.001 * |
| Enlarged lymph nodes | 1 (1) | 5 (5) | 5 (6) | 0.107 |
| Abnormal chest x-ray | 96 (64) | 116 (98) | 83 (92) | <0.001 * |
| Chest x-ray interpretation | 0.011 | |||
| Infiltrate or consolidated | 70 (76) | 74 (65) | 52 (63) | |
| Pleural effusion | 1 (1) | 2 (2) | 4 (5) | |
| Cavitary lesion | 2 (2) | 20 (18) | 9 (11) | |
| Tuberculoma | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (1) | |
| Mediastinal/hilar lymphoadenopathy | 5 (5) | 3 (3) | 5 (6) | |
| Micronodules (Miliar) | 0 (0) | 5 (4) | 3 (4) | |
| Other | 14 (15) | 9 (8) | 8 (10) | |
| Chest x-ray conclusion | <0.001 * | |||
| TB likely | 15 (16) | 114 (98) | 64 (77) | |
| Pneumonia or atypical TB | 35 (36) | 1 (1) | 16 (19) | |
| Pneumonia (TB unlikely) | 27 (28) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Other | 19 (20) | 1 (1) | 3 (4) | |
| Contact with active TB case | 27 (17) | 21 (19) | 27 (27) | 0.142 |
| BCG vaccinated | 81 (63) | 63 (67) | 62 (67) | 0.757 |
| Previous TB | 36 (23) | 13 (11) | 21 (22) | 0.029 |
| General appearance | 0.004 | |||
| Not ill | 41 (26) | 13 (12) | 13 (13) | |
| Mildly ill | 68 (44) | 47 (42) | 51 (51) | |
| Moderately/gravely ill | 47 (30) | 52 (46) | 36 (36) |
Note: Patient diagnosis confirmed with culture (C) and sputum smear microscopy (SS) with follow-up at two months. Statistical comparisons were conducted using Kruskal-Wallis for numerical variables and Pearson chi-square tests for binomial/categorical variables, two-tailed. * p values < 0.002 (Bonferonni adjusted) are significant. ** Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and country were pre-determined during sample selection, hence not statistically compared.