Patient and Doctor Delays in Smear-Negative and Smear-Positive Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients Attending a Referral Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey

Table 4

Possible reasons for patient and doctor delay.

Reason	Group 1		Group 2
		%		%
Patient delay
Neglect of symptoms by the patient	10	55.6	19	63.3
Distance to health center	2	11.1	2	6.7
Sociocultural factors	2	11.1	6	20
Economic status	2	11.1	2	6.7
Other	2	11.1	1	3.3
Total	18	100	30	100
Doctor delay
Underutilized or delayed sputum examinations	31	41.9	15	25.4
A low index of suspicion for tuberculosis	27	36.5	18	30.5
Reasons associated with patient	8	10.8	7	11.8
Reasons associated with laboratory system	5	6.8	8	13.6
Reasons associated with health care system	3	4	8	13.6
Other	—	—	3	5.1
Total	74	100	59	100