Two Difficult Pandemics: Tuberculosis and COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The coinfection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and SARS-CoV-2 is called tuberculosis and COVID-19 coinfection (TB-COVID-19). We aimed to share the clinical, radiological, and laboratory findings and treatment processes of our patients with TB-COVID-19 coinfection in our tertiary reference hospital. METHODS: Patients aged 18 years and over and hospitalized in the tuberculosis service between March 2020 and September 2022 were included. All coinfected patients whose COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction results were positive while receiving tuberculosis treatment or who were diagnosed with tuberculosis while receiving treatment for COVID-19 were included. RESULTS: The number of patients was 39; 61.6% of males; the mean age was 52 ± 17.1 years; 20% were foreign nationals; 92.5% were Asian; 69.5% had a bacteriological diagnosis; 84.6% had pulmonary tuberculosis; 10% had received antituberculosis treatment before; and 87.5% were sensitive to the first-line antituberculosis drugs. The most common comorbidities were diabetes and hypertension. 87.5% of the patients were diagnosed with tuberculosis and were superinfected with COVID-19 while receiving tuberculosis treatment. 49.5% of patients had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The most common presenting symptom was cough and sputum; the prominent laboratory parameter was C-reactive protein increase, and thorax computed tomography finding was consolidation, tree-in-bud, and cavitation. While 45.9% of the patients were still under treatment, 1 (2.5%) patient also resulted in mortality. CONCLUSION: In this study, attention was drawn to two infectious diseases seen with respiratory tract symptoms. The mortality rate was found to be low. Neither disease was found to be a factor aggravating the course of each other.

Comparison of Computed Tomography Findings in Lung Tuberculosis in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Patients.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading infectious causes of mortality globally. The purpose of this research is to examine the clinical and radiological characteristics of patients with TB and diabetes. METHODS: The research comprised 276 TB patients, 52 of whom were diabetic and 224 of whom were not. During the evaluation of the patients' clinical histories, age, gender, diagnostic indicator, and whether or not they had undergone prior treatment were questioned, as were the requirement of inpatient treatment and the existence of drug resistance. Radiographically, they were questioned in terms of bilateral-unilateral extent, percentage of parenchymal involvement, cavitation, tree-in-bud appearance, the presence of ground glass, consolidation, miliary involvement, sequela fibrotic changes, parenchymal calcification, mediastinal lymphadenopathy, pleural effusion, and pleural calcification. In addition, segmenting was used to assess involvement in the affected lobes. RESULTS: When we look at the results of 276 patients, 182 males and 94 females, the mean age is 46.01 ± 17.83. Diabetes and TB coexistence are more prevalent in male individuals (P = 0.029). Smear positivity and the need for inpatient treatment were found to be higher in the clinical features of diabetic patients (P = 0.05 and P = 0.01, respectively). Radiologically, diabetes individuals are more likely to have larger mediastinal lymph nodes (P = 0.032). CONCLUSION: In the coexistence of both TB and diabetes, there are variations in radiological findings, complexity in treatment response, and patient management.