Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Feb 21;25(1):84.
doi: 10.1186/s12890-025-03549-5.

The prevalence and pattern of post tuberculosis lung disease including pulmonary hypertension from an Australian TB service; a single-centre, retrospective cohort study

Anthony Byrne  1   2   3 , Yasmeen Al-Hindawi  4 , Marshall Plit  4   5 , Louis Yeung  4 , Standish Rigava  4 , Meredith King  6 , Kenneth Ng  5 , Sean F Mungovan  6
Affiliations

The prevalence and pattern of post tuberculosis lung disease including pulmonary hypertension from an Australian TB service; a single-centre, retrospective cohort study

Anthony Byrne et al. BMC Pulm Med. .

Abstract

Introduction: Post Tuberculosis Lung Disease (PTLD) is increasingly recognised as a significant cause of morbidity internationally, but has not been described in an Australian setting. We aimed to determine the prevalence of PTLD among adult TB survivors from an Australian TB service and describe the pattens of lung function abnormalities and pulmonary disease, including pulmonary hypertension.

Methods: We conducted a single-centre retrospective cohort study in Sydney, Australia, including all adults who successfully completed TB treatment between January 2013 and December 2022. Baseline characteristics, post treatment pulmonary function, and thoracic computed tomography (CT) data were analysed to determine the prevalence and patterns of PTLD, defined as any lung function and/or radiological abnormality attributable to TB.

Results: Among 119 confirmed TB patients (mean age 46 ± 21 years, 61% males) PTLD was identified in 81/119 (68%). Pulmonary function testing was available for 51/119 (43%), of whom 38/51(75%) exhibited abnormalities. Obstructive deficits were found in 25/51 (49%), restrictive deficits in 11/51 (22%), and impaired gas transfer capacity in 26/51 (51%). Chest CT scans were completed in 76/119 (64%), with 70/76 (92%) demonstrating significant abnormalities, including pulmonary fibrosis 43/76 (57%), bronchiectasis 22/76 (29%), and emphysema 11/76 (15%). Pulmonary hypertension was suspected in 52/76 (68%) patients based on radiological findings.

Conclusion: Despite successful treatment, PTLD was frequently observed among our cohort of Australian TB survivors. Further research into optimal screening practices to diagnose chronic pulmonary diseases and pulmonary hypertension could provide opportunities for earlier intervention and management.

Keywords: Bronchiectasis.; Post TB lung disease; Pulmonary hypertension; Tuberculosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by the St Vincent’s Hospital Human Research Ethics committee; 2020/ETH0288. Human Ethics and Consent to Participate declarations: not applicable as a waiver of consent was provided per the Australian national ethics statement. Clinical Trial Number not applicable to this study. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Consent for participation: No identifying photos or other materials are included in this manuscript and so this section is not relevant to our study.

References

    1. World Health Organisation. Tuberculosis fact sheet. November; 2023. https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis.
    1. Allwood BW, Byrne A, Meghji J, Rachow A, van der Zalm MM, Schoch OD. Post-tuberculosis Lung Disease: clinical review of an under-recognised global challenge. Respiration. 2021;100:751–63. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Menzies NA, Quaife M, Allwood BW, Byrne AL, Coussens AK, Harries AD, et al. Lifetime burden of disease due to incident tuberculosis: a global reappraisal including post-tuberculosis sequelae. Lancet Global Health. 2021;9(12):e1679–87. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Linh NN, Viney K, Gegia M, Falzon D, Glaziou P, Floyd K et al. World Health Organization treatment outcome definitions for tuberculosis: 2021 update. Eur Respir J. 2021; 58. - PubMed
    1. Byrne AL, Marais BJ, Mitnick CD, Lecca L, Marks GB. Tuberculosis and chronic respiratory disease: a systematic review. Int J Infect Dis. 2015;32:138–46. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources