ABSTRACT
Background: Tuberculosis [TB] is one of the oldest diseases known to affect humans, it caused by infection with Mycobacterium Tuberculosis [MTB]. MTB is most commonly transmitted from a patient with infectious pulmonary TB to other person by droplet nuclei. End Stage Renal Disease [ESRD] patients are exposed to a variety of infections, including TB. The standard test for detecting Latent TB infection [LTBI] is tuberculin skin test [TST]
Objective: Determination the prevalence of latent tuberculosis among end stage renal disease patients in hemodialysis unit in Baghdad teaching hospital, and assessing its correlations with various conditions
Methods: A stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 71 patients of ESRD in hemodiaylsis unit in Baghdad teaching hospital. The selected patients were interviewed using a structured pretested questionnaire. Two units of PPD [0.1mL] had been injected intradermally to the volar surface of forearm to be seen within 48-72 hours. The test was considered positive if [>=10mm induration] developed
Results: The study showed the rate of tuberculin reactivity among End Stage Renal Disease [ESRD] patients is 28.57%. About 57.14% of patients were male; mean age of patient was 54.34 +/- 15.25 years. The major cause of renal impairment were diabetes mellitus [DM] 52.86%, followed by hypertension 15.71%, duration of dialysis more than 6 months was 46.67%. History of contact with active tuberculosis patient was 62.5%
Conclusion: Significant relationship between history of contact with active TB patients, duration of dialysis, and age of patients with TST positivity