The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a series of questions that can help identify a prisoner (or guard) who should be screened for tuberculosis.
Parameters:
(1) duration of cough
(2) sputum production
(3) weight loss in the past 3 months
(4) loss of appetite
(5) chest pain
(6) history of anti-tuberculosis treatment (or tuberculosis)
(7) body mass index (BMI)
(8) results of fluorography
body mass index in kg per square meter =
= (body weight) / ((height in square meter)^2)
|
Parameter |
Finding |
Points |
|
duration of cough |
<= 2 weeks |
0 |
|
|
> 2 weeks |
2 |
|
sputum production |
absent |
0 |
|
|
present |
2 |
|
weight loss |
none |
0 |
|
|
present |
1 |
|
loss of appetite |
none |
0 |
|
|
present |
1 |
|
chest pain |
absent |
0 |
|
|
present |
1 |
symptom score =
= SUM(points for these 5 parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum symptom score: 0
• maximum symptom score: 7
A prisoner should be screened for tuberculosis if at least one of the following is present
(1) the symptoms score >= 5
(2) the patient has a history of anti-tuberculosis therapy (or tuberculosis)
(3) the body mass index is < 20 kg per square meter
(4) the patient has positive fluorography
Screening is usually done by a sequence of sputum examinations.
Specialty: Infectious Diseases, Pulmonology
ICD-10: ,
