Introduction: The increase in life expectancy shall be related to the higher number of tuberculosis cases, which, in spite of its curableness, still stand as a major challenge for public healthcare in several countries.
Objective:We sought to characterize the profile of elderly with the referred disease diagnosed in a reference hospital, residents of the city of João Pessoa-Paraíba-Brazil.
Method:It was a documental, descriptive, retrospective study with a quantitative approach which utilized the Epiinfo software, version 3.3.1 so as to systematize the data.
Results:The sample includes 169 diagnosis records of elderly with pulmonic tuberculosis, between the years of 2011 and 2013, of whom 6.5% are residents of the city of Bayeux, 12.4% Santa Rita, 3.6% Cabedelo, and 77.5% João Pessoa; The majority were male (65.1%), married (54.5%), with low education background (32.5%), non-institutionalized (79.9%), and actives (47.9%); of those, 32.5% were directed to reference service by another hospital unit. Among the associated comorbidities, we highlight alcoholism (25.5) and smoking (27.3%). Diabetes had higher rates in females (39.0%). The relevant symptom was coughing (66.1%); As for the closure, only 55.0% of the elderly
IntroductionTuberculosis (TB) is undoubtedly a curable disease since the last century, as it has free and effective treatment. However, the grievance remains as one of the major challenges for public health in several countries, establishing a close relation between the social conditions of life, being considered one of the leading causes of death from infectious diseases [1].In the world, the 2013 epidemiological data report 9 million people with TB and 1 million deaths due to the disease [2]. Brazil´s data point outs the prevalence of 40.7 cases/100.000 thousand inhabitants. Among the locations in Brazil, Paraiba specifically expresses an incidence rate of 30.7/100.000 thousand inhabitants, being considered the 14 th Brazilian state with the highest number of notifications, especially for men, people in the range of 20 to 29 years and prevalence of pulmonary form [3][4][5].Parallel to the constancy of TB in society, the world goes through the process of demographic transition, characterized by the decrease of fertility and mortality rates, resulting in increased life expectancy. In Brazil, it is estimated that by 2025 the number of elderly will reach 32 million, being the increase of this population a conditioning factor for those elderly who acquire and spread diseases of infectious nature, such as the TB [6][7]. Magnification of life expectancy is another aspect that promotes the presence of TB in the elderly population. It is seen that the cases in people older than 60 in Brazil increased significantly, having late diagnosis due to the common comorbidities in this age range, which generates greater susceptibility of people who age with the illness and probability of death from TB [8][9].In addition to that, problems related to the aging process, like the changes in speech and memory, hi...