Accuracy of Timika X-ray scoring system to predict the treatment outcomes among tuberculosis patients in India

Predictive capabilities of baseline radiological findings for early and late disease outcomes within sensitive and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis cases

“…Our results for prediction of sputum microscopy are consistent with prior findings showing the utility of Timika Score for baseline disease severity and infectiousness [9] , [7] , [8] . With regards to treatment outcome, our results fall into the range of previously reported ROC metrics showing a modest predictive ability for Timika Score between 0.6 and 0.7 ROC [11] , [21] . We show that Timika Score performs equivalently in DS patients for baseline sputum positivity and treatment outcome but not in MDR patients where it has less reliability to predict treatment outcome.…”

“…This is especially important in the growing number of DR cases endemic in certain parts of the world where early diagnosis, risk management, and treatment are key to containing the spread. The Timika Score was first reported in 2010 and has showed strong association with sputum smear grade and early disease burden [8] , [9] , [10] ; however, its reported performance for treatment outcome has not been as strong [11] . Since earlier studies often focused on DS, it is imperative to reassess Timika Score especially in the context of endemic DR TB in many areas of the world.…”