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. 2025 Apr 20;25(1):564.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-025-10892-9.

Prevalence and short-term outcomes of acute complications of tuberculosis: a cross-sectional, monocentre, Italian study

Michele Mondoni  1 , Cristina Albrici  2 , Silvia Terraneo  2 , Mariangela Puci  3 , Sara Maggioni  2 , Giulia Ferranti  2 , Sonia Henchi  4 , Ottavia Viganò  5 , Andrea Santoro  6 , Giulia Marchetti  6 , Stefano Centanni  2 , Claudia C Dobler  7 , Giovanni Sotgiu  3
Affiliations

Prevalence and short-term outcomes of acute complications of tuberculosis: a cross-sectional, monocentre, Italian study

Michele Mondoni et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Acute complications may impact on disease progression but their prevalence is unclear and prognostic outcomes of complicated patients have been poorly studied. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of acute complications of TB at the time of diagnosis. Short-term outcomes were also evaluated.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Milan (Italy), from January 2018 to December 2023.

Results: 201 patients with TB were recruited. 88 complications were recorded in 65 (32.3%) patients. Disseminated TB was the most frequent complication (30, 34.1%) followed by acute respiratory failure (23, 26.1%) and pleural empyema (6, 6.8%). In-hospital and 30-days mortality in complicated patients were 9/65 (13.8%) and 10/65 (15.4%), respectively. In-hospital mortality was significantly higher in patients with > 1 versus (VS) 1 complication (6, 31.6% VS 3, 6.5%, p = 0.02) without any difference in 1-month mortality (6, 31.6% VS 4, 9.8%, p = 0.06) between subgroups. Acute respiratory failure was the most lethal complication.

Conclusions: The study shows a substantial rate of complications in patients with a new diagnosis of TB associated to a significant short-term mortality. A prompt screen of complications at diagnosis is needed to improve short-term outcomes of these patients.

Keywords: Complication; Disseminated TB; Empyema; Miliary; Respiratory failure; Tuberculosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Approval was obtained from the ethics committee of Lombardia 1 (Milan, Italy; approval number 3119/23). The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Clinical trial: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of TB complication
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