Clinical and radiographic features of pulmonary tuberculosis in non-AIDS immunocompromised patients

Abstract

Setting: Department of Chest Diseases, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University.

Objective: To determine the clinical and radiographic presentation of pulmonary tuberculosis in non-AIDS immunocompromised patients (ICP).

Design: A retrospective review of medical records of 143 patients (63 immunocompromised patients and 80 immunocompetent patients) with pulmonary tuberculosis from 1992 to 2001.

Results: In ICPs, fever was more frequently observed (84.1% vs. 40%, P = 0.0000002), tuberculosis was more frequently disseminated (23.8 vs. 3.8%, P = 0.0008), and lung infiltrations were more often lobar or segmental consolidation (20.6% vs. 0%, P = 0.00007) and miliary lesions (17.5 vs. 3.8%, P = 0.014) than in the control patients. Hilar and/or mediastinal adenopathy was also more frequently documented in ICPs (14.3% vs. 2.5%, P = 0.01).

Conclusion: Fever, atypical chest radiograph and disseminated disease are common findings of pulmonary tuberculosis in ICPs.