ABSTRACT

Mycobacteriology laboratories have an important role in definitive diagnosis of tuberculosis which reoccurs as a life-threatening health problem on both the population and individual basis. In our mycobacteriology laboratory, 2969 samples were drawn from 1418 patients with suspected tuberculosis in 2002. In this study, we evaluated the distribution of specimens according to the site of collection and clinics, results of routine diagnostic methods for laboratory identification of tuberculosis (microscopic examination, classic and radiometric culture methods) and susceptibilities of 63 Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) isolates to antituberculosis drugs, retrospectively.