Demographic and microbiological characteristics and mortality status of patients diagnosed with tuberculosis and treated between 2018 and 2023

Purpose: We aimed to determine the demographic data, radiological findings, comorbid conditions, antituberculosis drug resistance rates, and tuberculosis-related mortality of patients with pulmonary and pleural tuberculosis where mycobacterium tuberculosis growth was detected in culture. Materials and methods: Data from 439 patients diagnosed with pulmonary and pleural tuberculosis in the chest diseases hospital clinic between January 2018 and December 2023 were retrospectively evaluated. Patients whose sputum, bronchial lavage and pleural fluid samples were positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in BACTEC 460 TB system medium were included in the study. We recorded the patients' demographic data, nationality, concomitant diseases, chest X-ray findings, drug resistance, and mortality status. We recorded the single, double, triple, and quadruple drug resistance rates against four main antituberculosis drugs using the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex susceptibility tests. Results: We tested sputum from 338 patients, bronchial lavage from 87 patients, and pleural fluid culture from 14 patients. EZN staining showed that acid-resistant bacillus was present in 224 (51%). Comorbidities were Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (36.4%), hypertension (26.4%), and bronchiectasis (18.7%). The evaluation of the patients' chest x-rays revealed that 45.1% had infiltration, 33.3% had cavitation and infiltration, and 7.1% had cavitation. Exitus occured in 7.7% of the patients due to tuberculosis. Drug resistances were isoniazid 47 (10.7%), rifampin 15 (3.4%), ethambutol 4 (0.9%), streptomycin 37 (8.4%), and multidrug-resistant 15 (14 + RR (1)) (3.4%). We detected single drug resistance in 44 patients, double drug resistance in 18 patients, triple drug resistance in 2 patients, and quadruple drug resistance in 4 patients. Conclusion: Tuberculosis incidence and mortality are decreasing; it is still an important public health problem. It can be mortal, especially in patients with advanced age and comorbidities.