肺结核的确诊有赖于从痰、胃液或纤支镜获得的标本涂片找到抗酸杆菌(AFB)或培养有结核杆菌生长。而有些病例X 线表现酷似活动性肺结核,但痰涂片始终阴性,对这些患者是否给予治疗尚有分歧。作者随访一组患者,旨在探讨此类患者的转归。72例涂阴肺结核患者最初培养阳性者22例给予抗结核治疗;其余50例,22例接受治疗(3HRE/6HE), The diagnosis of tuberculosis depends on the finding of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) or the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in specimens smear obtained from sputum, gastric juice or bronchoscopy. In some cases, X-ray showed resection of active pulmonary tuberculosis, but sputum smear was always negative. Whether these patients were given treatment were different. The authors followed a group of patients to explore the outcome of such patients. Totally 72 patients with smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis initially cultured positive were given antituberculous therapy; the remaining 50 patients were treated with 22 REs (3HRE / 6HE)