Emerging Tuberculosis Among Patients with Previous COVID-19

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 patients have a higher incidence of opportunistic infections, but there is little information on tuberculosis (TB). In this study, it was aimed to determine any possible contribution of COVID-19 in TB emergence among patients diagnosed with TB during the pandemic. A retrospective screening of the regional TB laboratory's records identified TB patients diagnosed in the Malatya region between April 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021. Medical data of TB patients with a prior COVID-19 were evaluated. During the study period, 171 TB patients were diagnosed in the region, with 26 also infected with SARS-CoV-2. Patients' histories revealed that 10 (38.5%) of these 26 patients developed TB symptoms in a median 68.5 days after COVID-19. Four patients had one-week to two-month corticosteroid treatment due to severe COVID-19, and one had a hematological malignancy history. However, the remaining five patients had no significant predisposing factor for TB relapse. Four out of 10 patients were free of any finding for active TB before COVID-19. Severe COVID-19 may have some obvious implications for TB reactivation, but there was no conclusive evidence of such an effect in mild to moderate COVID-19. Nonetheless, inquiring about COVID-19 histories from TB patients in large-scale studies may provide high-quality evidence about the interactions between the two pathogens.