Approach to the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis by Private Practitioner in Jabalpur City of Madhya Pradesh, India

Introduction: In India, the majority of patients with respiratory symptoms initially consult to private doctors. Few studies have been performed on the role of private practitioners (PPs) in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) control. The present study was performed to assess the knowledge and approach to the diagnosis of PTB by PPs according to Revised National TB Control Programme and World Health Organization standard guidelines. Aims and Objectives: Find out the approach strategy to the diagnosis of PTB by PPs in Jabalpur City of Madhya Pradesh, India. Materials and Methods: The present study become a cross-sectional study and was conducted from January 2013 to December 2014 in an urban area of Jabalpur city of Madhya Pradesh, India. The study population included all modern medicine general practitioners (GPs) and specialists; those were practicing internal medicine including chest physicians. About 216 practitioners were participating among them 43 were considered non-responders after three visits at their practice place. So that, total numbers of practitioners interviewed were 173. All practitioners were interviewed by predesigned, semi-structured, and close-ended questionnaire during field visits. Result: In present study, out of total participants (n = 173), (n = 148, 85.4%) were male and (n = 25, 14.6%) were female. The majority (n = 128, 74.0%,) of GPs and chest physicians opted for X-ray chest examination as the investigation of choice to diagnose PTB. About (n = 42, 24.3%), of GPs and chest physicians were used sputum examination as an investigation of choice to diagnose PTB. Conclusion: Relying only on chest X-ray to diagnose PTB may lead to misdiagnosis, overmedication, unnecessary utilization of resources and adding extra cost to the patient. There is need to improve the awareness among PPs regarding the importance of Sputum smear examination to diagnose PTB.