Clinicopathological Study of Tuberculosis Patients in a Tertiary Care Medical College Hospital

Abstract

Background: The aim of the study was to assess the clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of tuberculosis (TB) patients in a tertiary care medical college hospital of Bangladesh. Methods: An observational study was conducted over a period of 1 year from September 2015 to August 2016 in the Outpatient Department of Jahurul Islam Medical College Hospital and Department of Pathology, Jahurul Islam Medical College, Kishoregonj. The inclusion criteria of the study were pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) cases receiving anti-tubercular drugs therapy. Primary data from each patient were included in TB patient profile form such as age, gender, educational level, annual income in taka, occupational status and selected social habits like smoking and alcohol. Results: Out of 112 patients studied, 50 (44.6%) were male and 62 (55.4%) were female. The majority of patients 69 (61.7%) were in the age group of 15 - 34 years. Annual family income of 78 (69.6%) patients ranged between 36,000 and 150,000 taka. Out of 112 patients, 43 (38.4%) were illiterate and 36 patients (32.2%) were unemployed. Half of the patients were smoker. The most common sites involved in EPTB were the lymph nodes (38.2%) followed by the pleura (36.4%). The most common symptoms observed in PTB patients were cough with expectoration (96.5%) followed by weight loss (80.7%), fever (73.7%) and loss of appetite (54.4%). Conclusion: Prevalence of infection was noticed between PTB and EPTB with age and it was more common in younger age. However, based on our results, TB control programme might usefully target young middle-aged populations for early diagnosis of TB to decrease TB morbidity and mortality. Clin Infect Immun. 2016;1(2):41-44 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/cii56e