Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of pulmonary tuberculosis infections among the outdoor patients in Tertiary Care Hospitals of Quetta city, Balochistan

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, responsible for killing millions of people throughout the world. This study was designed to evaluate the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of pulmonary TB infections among the outdoor patients in Tertiary Care Hospitals of Quetta city. A total of 250 TB suspects were examined through Ziehl–Neelsen staining and culturing on Lowenstein–Jenson and modified Ogawa medium. Sociodemographical data of the patients were collected using prestructured questionnaire. Most of the suspects in this study were females (64%) with clinical signs and symptoms of TB. Furthermore, 35–50-year age group was most affected, with percentage prevalence of 51%, as compared with 15–35-year age group. Most patients were uneducated (78.4%) and with poor socioeconomic status (74.4%). Ten sputum smear samples were acid fast bacilli (AFB) positive 10/250 (4%) on Ziehl–Neelsen staining. All the sputum samples were inoculated (direct method) on solid Lowenstein–Jenson and modified Ogawa medium, and 9.2% and 8% of the samples, respectively, were positive. However, on drug susceptibility testing, no mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-resistant strains were detected.