Pharmacokinetics interaction of calcium on the treatment of sputum positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) in children is a neglected aspect of the TB epidemic despite it constituting 20% or more of all TB cases in many countries with high TB incidence. Tuberculosis constitutes a serious global health problem with nearly 10 million new cases of tuberculosis (2011) and 1.4 million deaths every year. There were no studies done about the interaction of levels of calcium in patients suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis before and after treatment for six-month duration. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in Chennai tuberculosis hospital from January 2012 through July 2015 in seven target groups, with consecutive recruitment. Patients with newly diagnosed smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis who had provided written information consent were randomly assigned to receive either a test or control regimen. Blood samples thus collected using standard sampling techniques were centrifuged to get the serum that was analysed for calcium by photometric test using Arsenazo III endpoint method. Results and Discussion: Results were expressed as Mean ± S.D for each measure. There were significant differences between treatment months Six months Treatment: 2.5 to 8.5 level bars are hypocalcaemia (26 patients), 9 to 10.5 level bars are normal values (31 patients), and 11 to 12.5 level bars are hypocalcaemia (4 patients). The statistically significant difference in the serum calcium concentration was found among culture-positive patients. Conclusion: Studies can be carried out on the prospects of use early markers of hypocalcaemia and hypercalcemia, as for before and after TB treatment. Our findings offer the possibility that early intervention will help achieve calcium conversion and ultimately a successful treatment outcome.