Use of Throat Swab as a Method of Sputum Induction in Suspected Cases of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease. It is caused by bacteria Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. It can be diagnosed by demonstrating AFB by either phenotypic method like sputum smear microscopy, culture or by genotypic method like NAAT or LPA. For better results there should be a good quality sputum sample. Induction of sputum is a method for improving the quality of sample. The most commonly used method is induction using 3% saline. It has been seen that during taking throat swab specimen patients usually produce cough. This induced cough can produce better quality of sputum. The following study was done to know about the role of throat swab as a method of sputum induction.