Evaluation of a screening chest X-ray programme for the detection of pulmonary tuberculosis in asymptomatic military members

This study evaluated reports from screening chest X-rays (s-CXRs) done by the South African Military Health Services on asymptomatic military members over the age of 40. Focus was placed on the yield of tuberculosis (TB) positive s-CXRs and a total of 29 (1.2%) patients showed signs of active TB from a study population of 2 371 patients during a 54-month study period. Although the results from this study cannot be extrapolated to the general population, the findings indicate that screening of the general population could be of value in South Africa where there is a high incidence of TB.