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Currently, sputum examination is the only widely available test for rapidly diagnosing tuberculosis (TB). However, smear-negative TB is not uncommon, especially among HIV-infected individuals and particularly among those who are most severely immunocompromised. Consequently, the diagnosis is often missed — and along with it, the opportunity for timely TB treatment, which is critical for survival. In this study, researchers explored whether C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, which are frequently elevated in individuals with TB, might be useful in the diagnosis of smear-negative active TB.
The study was conducted in an area of South Africa that has a very high prevalence of HIV infection (40%) and a very high annual incidence of active TB (1094 …