[Causes of death of tuberculosis patients in the first year after diagnosis]

Causes of late diagnosis of respiratory tuberculosis were studied in 137 adult patients who died within a one-year follow-up in the antituberculosis dispensaries of the region; when the diagnosis was established as a cause of death, autopsies were examined. Among those who died of tuberculosis were mostly subjects aged over 50 years. They were not employed in industry and not been fluorographically examined for more than 2 years. The main causes to late tuberculosis diagnosis in patients who were regularly examined included medical errors and patients' disregard of their own health.