Evaluation of epidemiological and clinical characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis in elderly patients of Yazd city

Abstract

Due to the fact that tuberculosis is one of the most important diseases in Iran and also due to the re-emergence of tuberculosis in the world, this disease has received more attention. This study was aimed to investigate epidemiological and clinical characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis in elderly patients of Yazd city. After the laboratory diagnosis, the doctor visited the patients and after confirming the diagnosis, the patients were referred to a specialist to complete the file and receive anti-tuberculosis drugs. Necessary information including: history, history of risk factors, history of treatment, diagnostic radiography, drug resistance and results of pulmonary tuberculosis treatment were reviewed by referring to patients' files. Finally, statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (version 16). Most of the participants were 75 years old. Most of the participants were illiterate and housewives. Nearly 59% had no underlying disease. Diabetes was the most common underlying disease among individuals. The results showed that knowledge of personal health care was lower in people with lower levels of literacy, which further increases the incidence of this disease in this group.