[Active pulmonary tuberculosis in young patients: current radiological presentation forms]

The clinical histories and thorax X-rays of 91 patients aged between 15 and 25 years who were admitted at the Hospital Royo Villanova, Zaragoza from 1983 to 1987 because of active pulmonary tuberculosis, were reviewed in order to study the radiological presentation of pulmonary tuberculosis in young patients and examine if there were any differences with other age groups. We highlight from the results: 1) The male/female ratio was 1.5/1.2) There were no differences in the radiological presentation between this group and older subjects, 3) The radiological localization of the lesions was the classical one, 4) The mean clinical evolution time before diagnosis was made, was of three months, 5) A longer evolution time was related to a greater lesion extension. We highlight that a prompt X-ray contributes to the early diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in young patients avoiding delays in diagnosis and treatment.