Table 1.
Baseline characteristics by diagnostic group
| Total (n = 99) | Definite TB (n = 21) | Probable TB (n = 15) | Not TB (n = 63) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | |||||
| Males | 45 (45%) | 9 (43%) | 4 (27%) | 32 (51%) | 0.233 |
| Females | 54 (55%) | 12 (57%) | 11 (73%) | 31 (49%) | |
| Age (median [IQR]) | 37 (30–49) | 32 (28–35) | 36 (31–41) | 44 (32–57) | 0.003 |
| HIV status | |||||
| Positive | 50 (51%) | 13 (62%) | 8 (53%) | 29 (46%) | 0.442 |
| Negative | 49 (49%) | 8 (38%) | 7 (47%) | 34 (54%) | |
| On ARVS | 31 (62%) | 8 (62%) | 7 (88%) | 16 (55%) | 0.263 |
| CD4 count (cells/mm3, median [IQR]) | 216 (82–361) | 100 (55–254) | 351 (88–497) | 252 (92–361) | 0.106 |
| < 100 | 16 (32%) | 6 (46%) | 2 (25%) | 8 (28%) | 0.675 |
| 100–249 | 10 (20%) | 3 (23%) | 1 (13%) | 6 (21%) | |
| ≥ 250 | 24 (48%) | 4 (31%) | 5 (63%) | 15 (52%) | |
| Performance Score | |||||
| ECOG 0 | 49 (50%) | 10 (48%) | 9 (60%) | 30 (48%) | 0.979 |
| ECOG 1 | 28 (28%) | 6 (29%) | 5 (33%) | 17 (27%) | |
| ECOG 2 | 4 (4%) | 1 (5%) | 0 | 3 (5%) | |
| ECOG 3 | 16 (16%) | 4 (19%) | 1 (7%) | 11 (17%) | |
| ECOG 4 | 2 (2%) | 0 | 0 | 2 (3%) | |
| Patient Type | |||||
| Inpatient | 16 (16%) | 4 (19%) | 2 (13%) | 10 (16%) | 0.924 |
| Outpatient | 83 (84%) | 17 (81%) | 13 (87%) | 53 (84%) | |
| Previous tuberculosis | 24 (24%) | 6 (29%) | 6 (40%) | 12 (19%) | 0.205 |
| On tuberculosis treatment | 21 (21%) | 6 (29%) | 6 (40%) | 9 (15%) | 0.059 |
| Consistency of lymph node | |||||
| Firm | 81 (87%) | 16 (80%) | 12 (86%) | 53 (90%) | 0.491 |
| Fluctuant | 12 (13%) | 4 (20%) | 2 (14%) | 6 (10%) | |
| Symptoms | |||||
| Cough | 27 (27%) | 6 (29%) | 3 (20%) | 18 (29%) | 0.79 |
| Weight loss | 47 (47%) | 13 (62%) | 5 (33%) | 29 (46%) | 0.222 |
| Night sweats | 29 (29%) | 8 (38%) | 3 (20%) | 18 (29%) | 0.49 |
| Location of lymph nodes | |||||
| Unilateral | 61 (62%) | 13 (62%) | 12 (80%) | 36 (57%) | 0.262 |
| Bilateral | 38 (38%) | 8 (38%) | 3 (20%) | 27 (43%) | |
| Lymph node FNA/biopsy site | |||||
| Neck | 85 (86%) | 19 (90%) | 14 (93%) | 52 (83%) | 0.881 |
| Axilla | 10 (10%) | 2 (10%) | 1 (7%) | 7 (11%) | |
| Inguinal | 4 (4%) | 0 | 0 | 4 (6%) | |
| Blood results (median [IQR]) | |||||
| LDH (units/L) | 267 (218–341) | 292 (251–341) | 218 (194–239) | 273 (230–366) | 0.006 |
| Hb (g/dL) | 12.1 (9.4–13.4) | 10.5 (8.7–12.1) | 11.8 (9.6–12.7) | 12.4 (9.7–13.5) | 0.041 |
| WCC (cells × 10^9) | 6.9 (4.9–9.1) | 5.3 (4.0–8.0) | 5.7 (4.8–7.3) | 7.4 (5.2–9.9) | 0.142 |
| Lymphocytes (cells × 10^9) | 1.7 (1.0–2.4) | 1.2 (0.7–1.9) | 1.7 (1.4–2.0) | 1.7 (1.0–2.7) | 0.197 |
P values <0.05 are shown in bold. Data are n/N; % (95% CI). ECOG Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, LDH Lactate Dehydrogenase, Hb Haemoglobin, WCC White Cell Count