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Sputum specimens are needed to confirm diagnosis
Smears of sputum look for acid-fast bacilli (AFB)
Smears usually ready in 24 hours
Cultures will give definitive diagnosis and will be available 4-14 days (it is still the gold standard)
Patients with positive AFB should be presumed to have Tuberculosis [5]
AFB Smear AFB (shown in red) are tubercle bacilli
CDC - Division of Tuberculosis Elimination. Slide Set " Core Curriculum on Tuberculosis: What the Clinician Should Know http://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/slidesets/corecurr/default.htm. September 2012. PPT file.
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