The spectrum of tuberculosis as currently seen in a metropolitan hospital.

Abstract

The risk of developing active tuberculosis remains relatively high in urban areas. A prospective study of 95 consecutive patients with active tuberculosis admitted to a large municipal hospital was undertaken. The average patient was a middle-aged, white man with a low income; however, one third of the patients were foreign born, and nearly one-fourth had been treated previously for active tuberculosis. Alcoholism and failure to complete an adequate course of chemotherapy were prominent features of the reactivation subgroup. Including the patients with reactivation, nearly one half of the group had come to medical attention in time to have prevented or modified their illness. Attention must be paid to patients known to be at risk of developing tuberculosis if morbidity is to be reduced.