Epidemiological Characteristics of Tuberculosis in a Reference Hospital

ABSTRACT

Introduction: At present, tuberculosis is the ninth cause of death, the first from infectious diseases. According to some estimates, there are 10 million new cases of ill people with tuberculosis per year throughout the world, with more than one million annual deaths. The objective of this study was to characterize patients diagnosed with tuberculosis who were treated in the Hospital Transito Cáceres de Allende of the city of Córdoba. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective, observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. Results: 57.9% of the 69 patients included in the study were male. The most affected age group was between 26 and 65 years. 35% did not have a job, and a large part of those who were employed did not have job stability. Eight patients were partially immunocompromised and there was only 1 case of HIV infection. There were no cases of antituberculous drug-resistant patients. Conclusions: The epidemiological characteristics of our patients are similar to other publications of the area. Knowing about them allows us to make decisions regarding daily management, both in terms of diagnosis and treatment, and also prevention and outbreakcontrol, in order to limit disease propagation.