[[TUBERCULOSIS DIAGNOSIS FOLLOWING A VISIT TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM].]

We aimed to evaluate the clinical char- acteristics of patients admitted to the emergency room (ER) and diagnosed with tuberculosis. [Method] We conducted a retrospective study of patients aged ; 16 years admitted to the hospital between April 1980 and March 2015 and diagnosed with tuberculosis. We com- pared patient clinical characteristics and type of tuberculosis between ER and non-ER patients. We also compared the incidence of delayed diagnosis of tuberculosis between ER patients with and without respiratory symptoms. We compared the tuberculosis encounter rate and the time to diagnosis of tuberculosis in ER and non-ER patients. [Results] A total of 255 patients, including 54 ER and 201 non-ER patients were enrolled in this study. The average age J was higher in ER patients than in non-ER patients (71.7? 16.3 vs. 63.3 ?20.3 years, p=0.006). The reasons for visiting the ER included acute conditions such as fracture of the lumbar spine, acute myocardial infarction, hemorrhagic gastric ulcer, brain infarction, and carbon monoxide intoxication, requiring immediate treatment. The time to diagnosis of tuberculosis in ER patients without respiratory symptoms (n=21) was approximately three times longer than that in patients with respiratory symptoms (n=33) as urgent treatment is priori- tized. The tuberculosis encounter rate was 1/1,800 for pa- tients transported by ambulance and 1/22,000 for emergency outpatients. The time to diagnosis of tuberculosis for patients transported by ambulance was approximately 4-6 days lon- ger than that for emergency outpatients or non-ER patients. [Conclusion] Physicians should seek to rule out the possi- bility of tuberculosis in all patients admitted to the ER, even where more urgent clinical conditions are prioritized.