Prevalence and clinical features of tuberculosis in Ethiopian diabetic patients.

ABSTRACT

PIP: This retrospective, cross-sectional analysis examines the prevalence and clinical characteristics of tuberculosis (TB) in Ethiopian diabetic patients. Using the records of 1352 patients seen at the Endocrinology and Metabolism Unit of the Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 78 cases (5.8%) of TB were identified. Diagnosis of the disease includes clinical evaluations, chest x-ray, and detection of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in the sputum or measures tissue and histopathologic characteristics of biopsy specimens. Prevalence was 52.7% among males, 54.25% among those with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), 47.3% among females, and 45.8% among those with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). The mean age of 71 patients with TB was 34 +or- 19 years (14-85 years); 76.0% were IDDM and 23.9% were NIDDM patients. 17 of the IDDM patients also had clinical characteristics similar to those of malnutrition-related diabetes mellitus. The most frequent symptoms of TB included fever (80.5%), sweating (80.5%), and cough (76%); 78.9% of patients suffered from pulmonary, 11.2% from extrapulmonary, and 9.9% from disseminated TB. On the other hand, chest X-ray reports revealed that 48 of the patients had unilateral or multiple lobe involvement and 5 had bilateral involvement. Of the 71 patients, 38 were able to complete antituberculosis treatment, 4 patients defaulted, 7 had relapse, 6 were still in treatment, 13 were lost to follow-up, and 3 died. In conclusion, this study confirmed the 26- and 7-fold risk of developing TB among IDDM and NIDDM patients, respectively.