Impact of Tuberculosis on lung function: Describing PTLD in Latin America

Post-tuberculous lung disease (PTLD) comprises a set of clinical manifestations and outcomes associated with the impact of tuberculosis infection on the surviving host. 1055 patients were recruited with a diagnosis of TB, who had already completed treatment between 2022 and 2023 in west zone of Colombia. From these, a sample of 140 patients was taken who underwent spirometry and a 6-minute walk test. Regarding the functional tests, it is evident that, in the 6-minute walk test, only 8.7% exceeded 85% of the predicted percentage, 67.3% were between 60 and 80% of the predicted and 24% were below 60%. Additionally, it was observed that, on the Borg scale, 67% of the patients expressed a feeling of dyspnea during the test (figure 1). <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA4164/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig> Regarding spirometry, it was found that almost half of the patients presented a test within normal ranges (47.8%), the most frequent pattern was obstructive (43.8%) where most patients were classified with some degree of severity (figure 2). <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA4164/F2</object-id><object-id>F2</object-id><object-id>F2</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig> This preliminary study shows a first advance of results and analysis, evidencing a significant alteration in the lung function tests of patients who have completed anti-TB treatment.