Admissions by tuberculosis in a regional reference Center. A complex and worrying scenario

To characterize clinical aspects, evaluate the diagnostic opportunity, and identify factors associated with mortality in patients hospitalized for tuberculosis (TB).

Retrospective study of patients admitted for TB to a Regional Hospital in Chile between 2011 and 2019.

142 TB events required hospitalization in this period (38.2% of total cases). All risk groups were identified, with a significant increase in patients with diabetes mellitus. The pulmonary location was the most frequent (71.1%), followed by disseminated forms (16.2%). The sensitivity of microscopy smear in cases of pulmonary TB (isolated or combined) was 78.8% and lower in cases of bronchoalveolar lavage (58.3%). PCR was only occasionally applied (< 10%) with a sensitivity of 100% in sputum samples. Its use increased progressively and reached a positivity of 33% (6 out of 18 cases) in cases with negative sputum staining. The median time between symptom onset and diagnosis was prolonged (9 weeks), and 32.5% of all regional events were diagnosed at the hospital. Dose adjustments (22.1%), corticosteroid use (25%), and treatment interruptions were frequent (11%). Lethality reached 19%, and by multivariate analysis, only shock was associated with a fatal outcome.

In this case series, the diagnosis of TB cases was delayed, scarcely diagnosed by molecular methods, highly concentrated at the hospital level, required admission in a large percentage of cases, and had a high case-fatality rate.