Profile of tuberculosis cases attending a directly observed treatment short-course centre in North Kerala

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a worldwide public health problem. India has the highest TB burden in the world. India accounted for a quarter of global incident TB cases, 24% of multi drug resistance (MDR) TB cases and highest TB mortality rate in 2017. Thus it is important to understand the profile of TB patients. The objective of the study was to assess the profile of TB cases attending a directly observed treatment short-course (DOTS) center in North Kerala.Methods: A retrospective record based, descriptive study was done in the DOTS center of Government Medical College Kannur, in North Kerala, to assess the profile of TB patients who attended the centre from January 2015 to July 2018. Details of 548 patients were collected from the record maintained at DOTS center. Data was entered in Microsoft Excel and analysed using Epi info7 software.Results: The age group of 21-60 years was most affected. 68.53% of the patients were males. 45.62% of patients had extra-pulmonary TB (EPTB). Among the pulmonary TB patients, 74.27% tested positive for acid fast bacilli. Among cases of EPTB, most common type was TB lymphadenitis (40.8%) followed by tuberculous pleural effusion (22.4%). 87.59% of TB patients were started on category I treatment under DOTS.Conclusions: In our study, affected population was mostly males and those in productive age group. This is the group that has maximum chances of exposure to TB patients. 45.62% patients had EPTB. Total number of cases is on the rise each year, with maximum cases in 2018.