الفهرس 
ContentsOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Sodium bicarbonate (SB) is commonly used as a pH buffering agent. It is widely used in medical indications and safe in the formula of 8.4% solution.Changing the acidic medium may affect the growth of the bacilli and affect its response to antituberculous treatment and may improve the radiological as well as the clinical response to treatment.The aim of this work was to assess the effect of adjuvant inhalation of SB 8.4% on the clinical and radiological responses as well as sputum conversion time to negative. 121 patients enrolled in this study, divided into two groups, study group included 59 patients who received sodium bicarbonate inhalation therapy in addition to antituberculous treatment; However 4 of them were excluded from study, and control group included 62 patient who received antituberculous treatment only; However 14 of them were excluded from the study.All included patients were smear positive drug sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis, with or without extra-pulmonary tuberculosis.Patients of study group received solution of SB 8.4% inhalation in a dose of 5 ml every 6 hours a day with the usual antituberculous treatment for one month.As regard the clinical response there was significant improvement of dyspnea in patients of study group one month after the start of study, but the improvement of other symptoms was insignificant.In group II there was no significant change of symptoms after one month of the start of treatment.Radiological follow up with chest X-ray, P.A view there was significant improvement in group I, one month after the start of the treatment, but in group II, there was no significant changes.As regard sputum conversion time, there was a significant difference in median time sputum conversion of study group and control group, the median time for sputum conversion to negative in group I was 3 weeks and in group II, it was 10 weeks (P < 0.001).No significant side effects observed from sodium bicarbonate inhalation mentioned by patients of study group apart from salty taste and irritative cough that subsided in 5 minutes.Conclusion: Inhalation of SB 8.4 % in drug sensitive pulmonary TB as adjunctive therapy to standard anti-TB drugs shortens the duration required for smear conversion and achieves rapid clinical and radiologic improvements.