What Does These AFB Stain Test Indicate?

Brief Answer: Hemoptysis can be due to various causes Detailed Answer: Hi, I appreciate your concern. Blood in sputum is called Hemoptysis. If I see such a patient in my clinic , I would like to rule out Lung Infections like Pneumonia, Tuberculosis, Lung abscess, fungal infections and other causes like Bronchiectasis, Vasculitis, Lung malignancy and Mitral Stenosis. If you have history of Low grade fever (esp. in evening) with loss of appetite and loss of weight , then we should rule out possibility of Pulmonary Tuberculosis. Sputum test for AFB is one means to diagnose pulmonary tuberculosis. You already got your sputum for AFB staining , which is negative. However sputum for AFB is not positive in all cases of pulmonary tuberculosis. So we need to correlate your clinical picture with your Blood reports and your Chest X Ray. In case you are having above clinical features along with High ESR and classical Chest X ray picture, then I will still suspect pulmonary tuberculosis though the sputum test was negative. You should consult a chest physician and discuss about it. Meanwhile you can take oral antibiotics along with cough suppressants , to help your present symptoms. Hope it helps Dr. Kavita Paul

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