CLINICO-EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF PULMONARY AND EXTRA PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS IN A HOSPITAL OF NORTH INDIA: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Background: Despite all the advances in the last century, tuberculosis (TB) is still a major problem of public health importance. It is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide. Material and methods: A retrospective record based study on diagnosed cases of tuberculosis, both pulmonary and extra pulmonary was conducted in a tertiary care hospital of North India for a duration of two and a half years. The information about demographic profile, risk factors, clinical presentation and various diagnostic tests done were obtained from medical case records and analyzed. Results: The study included 230 TB patients. Of these, 82.6% had pulmonary TB and 17.4% had extra pulmonary TB. Male to female ratio was 1.7:1. The number of patients in the age group 20-40 years was greatest. Disseminated TB (30%), abdominal TB (22.5%) and lymphadenitis were the most common form of EPTB. Majority of the cases (74.7%) were from rural areas. History of contact was present in 13% cases. The percentage of smokers and alcoholics in our study was 38.2% and 16% respectively. Diabetes was present in 19.1% patients. Mantoux test was positive in 53% cases and 62.7% were smear positive on ZN staining. Conclusion: TB mostly affects the young and economically productive age group especially from rural areas. It is very important to educate the rural folks about the disease, its mode of spread and create appropriate health care facilities.