Tuberculosis Case Finding in General Hospitals

Abstract

For many years, the chest X-ray has been recognized as a superior method of diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis, but when only large films could be used, the cost in time and facilities prevented its general use to screen out tuberculosis among large groups of people. The fluoroscope was tried in some hospitals, and in the hands of expert clinicians it was recognized as a valuable diagnostic aid, but it failed to supply an objective record of the findings. The development of the small film photofluorograph in the late 1930's made possible the examination of large numbers of people quickly, easily, and at a relatively low cost, and gave impetus to tuberculosis case-finding programs which have expanded greatly in the past 10 years. Limited progress has been made, however, in the development of case-finding programs in general hospitals. The responsibility of the general hospital in tuberculosis control is