Culture Conversion

Sputum culture conversion - The transition in sputum culture results from a positive sample growing Mycobacterium tuberculosis to two consecutive negative cultures separated by at least 30 days.

Time to culture conversion is the interval between treatment initiation to date of specimen collection of the first (of the two) negative culture.

Culture conversion is important indicator to assess the effectiveness of a treatment regimen for Drug-resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB).

All DR-TB cases are followed up periodically for culture after initiation of the treatment. Based on the culture results and other parameters, the course of treatment is decided.

Resources

• Time to Culture Conversion and Regimen Composition in Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis Treatment; Tierney D. Harvard Library
• Guidelines for Programmatic Management of Drug-resistant Tuberculosis in India, 2021.

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