Smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis in immunocompromised patients. Hospital de Clínicas, 2018-2019

Abstract

Introduction: Tuberculosis represents the ninth leading cause of death worldwide. Latent infection can be reactivated by situations that compromise host immunity. Pulmonary tuberculosis is the most frequent manifestation in immunocompromised patients. Smear microscopy is the primary tool in the diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis. Objectives: To determine the frequency of smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis in immunocompromised patients attending the Pneumology Service of the Hospital de Clínicas during the period 2018 to 2019. Materials and methods: Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective, non-probabilistic sampling of consecutive cases. A review of clinical records of patients admitted to the Department of Pneumology of the Hospital de Clínicas (2018-2019), registered in the statistics department of the service, was performed. A pre-coded Microsoft Excel spreadsheet was used for data processing and analysis. Results: Of the total patient medical records within the studied population (n=34), in 68% of the cases the diagnosis was established by smear microscopy, 65% of them with finding three crosses (+++). Conclusion: The frequency of positive smear microscopy in immunocompromised patients was high. Although its use is decreasing, it is important to continue performing this study in all immunocompromised patients with respiratory symptoms due to its low cost and practicality.