Evaluation of the quality control of sputum examination in general hospitals of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Objective To analyze the quality control work of sputum smear examination in general hospitals and to explore effective measures for improving TB infection source detection.Methods The monitoring reports and smear recheck quality control results of all general hospitals were analyzed and evaluated.Results In 2007,21 313 TB suspects were registered in 53 basic-level general hospitals,among which 403 cases were smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis,smear positive rate was 5.7%;6 989 smear negative and no smear results cases were referred to tuberculosis control institutes,with 5 972 cases received smear results and 2 030 cases were smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis,smear positive rate was 33.9%.3 940 smear-negative TB patients were referred to TB control institutes and examined sputum smear,among which 893 were smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis cases,smear positive rate was 22.6%.29 048 patients received their smear results in TB control institutes with 9 896 smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis cases,smear positive rate was 34.1%,there were significant differences compared with general hospitals(P0.05).Conclusions Strengthening the cooperation between general hospitals and TB control institutes,improving the training and retraining of lab technicians in general hospitals to increase quality control and detection rate in order to improve the detection of TB infection source.