Sputum culture conversion among patients with tuberculosis (TB) is the most important indicator for the effectiveness of treatment and the infectivity of the disease. We sought to investigate predictors for documented sputum culture conversion among TB cases reported in the surveillance system. Methods: This study included 780 patients with pulmonary TB who were initially sputum culture positive in New Jersey in 1994-1995. These patients were followed up for at least 1 week and up to 1 year.

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... lan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models were performed to analyze the data. Results: Overall, 469 (60.1%) of the 780 patients had documented sputum culture conversion. The elderly (36%) and non-Hispanic whites (41.3%) were the least likely to have documented sputum conversion. Patients who were initially given 4 or more drugs were 36% more