SMOKING AND A 5 YEAR RELAPSE RATE OF TUBERCULOSIS: A CASUAL COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Objective: To study the relative effects of previous and current smoking habits on the 5 years relapse rate of Tuberculosis. Methods: This multi-center, retrospective study comprised of 200 patients (64.8% males and 35.2% females) chosen via simple random sampling and undergoing treatment for relapsed tuberculosis at different T.B centers namely: Government T.B Sanatorium Kotri, Bhittai Hospital Hyderabad, Civil Hospital Hyderabad and Civil Hospital Mirpurkhas, from 1st December 2014 to 10th February 2015. Verbal informed consent was obtained before administering structured self-administered questionnaires. The data obtained was analyzed using SPSS v. 19.0 and Microsoft Excel 2013. Result: Incidence of relapse of T.B within 5 years in Non-Smokers is 73% while much more extensive rate of incidence of relapse T.B is seen in people who continue to smoke during and after treatment which is up to 92%. Similarly past smokers showed up to 80% incidence of relapse and the people who had left smoking due to the disease showed incidence of up to 86% of T.B relapse within 5 years. The frequency of cigarette packets consumed by smokers per day who are currently suffering from relapse T.B within 5 years is estimated which concluded that 14% of patients consume 2 packets per day, 11% consume 1 packet per day, 3% consume 1/2 of packet per day and 1% consume 1/3 of packet per day. Conclusion: The analysis produced evidence that incidence of relapse T.B within 5 years among smokers is greater than non-smokers. Smoking is a risk factor for relapse T.B which should be incorporated as a preventive intervention by Tuberculosis control policies in the future. Keywords: Tuberculosis, Relapsed Rate, Cigarette Smoking, Tobacco Smoking, Tuberculosis Relapse