Comparison of Clinical Characteristics of Pulmonary Tuberculosis between General and Homeless Patients

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: We compared characteristics and outcomes of pulmonary tuberculosis in homeless and non-homeless patients. METHODS: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted in a Seoul municipal medical center between January 2007 and December 2011. All adult patients diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis were included. We classified these patients into homeless and non-homeless and compared the disease characteristics, risk factors, mortality, treatment completion rate, and resistance rate. RESULTS: All 157 patients were diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis (75 homeless and 82 non-homeless). Most homeless patients were male (97.3%) and had higher emergency medical service (EMS) use (77.3%). Additionally, most homeless patients used alcohol l(76%) and smoked (77.3%). When compared with the non-homeless group, the homeless group had a higher in-hospital mortality rate (14.7%; adjusted odds ratio (OR), 4.69; 95% confident interval (CI), 1.03-21.34), and were more likely to be admitted for (adjusted OR=3.27(1.07-9.97)), but not to complete tuberculosis treatment (adjusted OR=9.10(2.24-36.98)). CONCLUSION: Pulmonary tuberculosis showed higher mortality in homeless than non-homeless patients. Additionally, homeless had a lower treatment completion rate and fewer resistant microorganisms.