[The reactivation of pulmonary tuberculosis in persons in registry groups III and VII and those removed from dispensary observation].

Clinicoroentgenological findings on 3262 patients registered in groups III and VII of the dispensary observation were studied for a period of 12 years and 425 cases of tuberculosis relapses were analyzed. On the basis of the data it was suggested to divide tuberculosis relapses into real reactivation (65.6 per cent) and pseudoreactivation (26.4 per cent). Pseudoreactivation of tuberculosis in 46.4 and 42.0 per cent of the patients was diagnosed because of mistakes of roentgenologists and phthisiologists, respectively. Diagnosis of tuberculosis pseudoreactivation in 11.6 per cent of the patients was associated with diagnostic difficulties. 8 per cent of the pseudoreactivations interpreted as relapses referred to overdiagnosis of tuberculosis activity. Therefore, real reactivation of pulmonary tuberculosis was only in 2/3 of the patients.