Short course for focused assessment with sonography for human immunodeficiency virus/tuberculosis: preliminary results in a rural setting in South Africa with high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus and tuberculosis.

In Africa, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is common and poses diagnostic difficulties. Ultrasound is useful to find suggestive signs such as effusions or abdominal lymphadenopathy. Because trained radiologists are scarce in resource-poor settings, even this simple and relatively inexpensive diagnostic tool is frequently unavailable to patients in district hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa. We developed a focused protocol for assessment with sonography for HIV/TB and trained physicians in a rural district hospital in South Africa. In this pilot study, high levels of confidence in identifying specific signs were rapidly achieved and ultrasound was introduced into routine clinical practice.