Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of Tuberculosis at a Tertiary Care Center in Oman: A Retrospective Study (2015-2020)

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant global health concern.In Oman, despite progress towards TB elimination, data describing the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients managed in tertiary care settings remain limited.This study aimed to characterize the epidemiological and clinical profiles of patients with TB at the Royal Hospital in Muscat, Oman.A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2015 to December 2020, including all confirmed cases of pulmonary TB (PTB) and extrapulmonary TB (EPTB).Demographic, clinical, and microbiological data were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23.0 (Released 2015; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).Among the 158 patients included, 99 (62.7%) had PTB, 56 (35.4%) had EPTB, and 3 (1.9%)had disseminated TB.Males accounted for 63.9% of cases, and the mean patient age was 50 years.Cough (60.7%) and fever (58.2%) were the most frequently reported symptoms.Hypertension (26.6%) and diabetes mellitus (20.2%) were the most common comorbidities.Rifampicin resistance was detected in 2 of the 40 patients tested (5.0%), representing 1.3% of the overall cohort.Pleural effusion (23%) and death (10%) were the most frequently reported complications.In this cohort, PTB was more common than EPTB, and males accounted for the majority of cases.The findings highlight the importance of integrating TB care with chronic disease management and maintaining surveillance as Oman advances towards TB elimination.