Expert Consultation on Improving the Diagnosis
of Tuberculosis through Optimization of Sputum Microscopy
1-2 September 2005, Geneva, Switzerland
The meeting was held in parallel with an Expert Consultation on Improving the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis through Diagnostic Algorithms. Both meetings were organized by WHO Stop TB Department, the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) to address a fundamental issue of growing importance: the relatively large numbers of tuberculosis patients whose diagnosis is delayed or missed when conventional diagnostic approaches are used. The meeting centred on three systematic reviews commissioned by TDR and FIND in the context of their joint workplan, and conducted by a team at the University of California, San Francisco, USA. The meeting focused on the review of existing data to determine its strength, identify knowledge gaps, and define a research agenda regarding the following subjects: role of sputum concentration methods, fluorescence microscopy and number of sputum examinations per TB suspect.
A set of specific recommendations addressing each topic were developed. Please refer to the meeting report for details.