Factors predicting the need for intensive care in patients admitted for pulmonary TB

<sec><title>BACKGROUND</title>Pulmonary TB (PTB) is a common cause of intensive care unit (ICU) admission. However, there is limited evidence on the factors associated with ICU care for patients initially admitted to the general ward.</sec><sec><title>METHODS</title>The study included 32 PTB patients without HIV infection admitted to the ICU from the general ward, while 55 controls were selected from 623 patients with PTB who had been admitted to the hospital after matching for age, sex, and radiological findings of the extent of TB. The odds ratio for ICU admission was tested using conditional logistic regression.</sec><sec><title>RESULTS</title>Age, sex, and extent of radiological involvement were similar between the two groups. The most common cause of ICU referral was respiratory failure, and the mean duration of ICU stays was 22.5 days. No differences were identified between the epidemiological characteristics and clinical features of patients with TB between the two groups. The ICU group showed lower serum albumin and haemoglobin levels and a higher C-reactive protein level than controls. Patients with lower albumin levels showed an increased risk of ICU admission than those with normal albumin levels.</sec><sec><title>CONCLUSION</title>This study showed that the albumin level at admission was crucial in predicting ICU admission in PTB patients without HIV infection.</sec>.