Frequency of anemia in patients with pulmonary TB presenting at Nishtar Hospital Multan

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to determine the frequency of anemia in patients with pulmonary TB presenting at Nishtar Hospital Multan and its classification as per the severity and morphological characteristics.
 Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at Nishtar Hospital Multan. A total of 109 TB patients were enrolled and underwent physical and systemic examination. Blood samples were collected to estimate complete blood counts (CBC), liver and renal function tests (LFT; RFT), serum albumin, and C - reactive protein (CRP) levels. Abdominal ultrasound was performed when suspected of any organomegaly. Hemoglobin was estimated using an automated analyzer (SYSMEX-SP100) and repeated manually among doubted cases. Before inclusion, written informed consent was obtained from all patients before inclusion, and the collected data was analyzed using SPSS version 22.0.
 Results: The female majority (54%) in the studied sample, with a mean age of 38 ± 15.3 years, and most belonged to low socioeconomic status (80%). Moreover, 43% were from Multan, 30% from D.G. Khan, and the remaining were from Khanewal, Layyah, and Vehari districts. Anemia was found in 82.56% of the enrolled TB patients. Most patients were moderately weak (Hb < 10 g/dl > 7 g/dl), and microcytic anemia was found in more than 80% of the anemic patients. CRP level was raised in 70% of these patients, and there was hypoalbuminemia in 80%. Furthermore, females were more anemic than males.
 Conclusion: In our study, anemia was prevalent in TB patients, specifically microcytic anemia. Hence, TB patients must be monitored for dietary deficiencies and inflammatory modulators to avoid such complications