Tuberculosis-Related Hospitalization According to Comorbidity Burden: A Retrospective Single-Center Cohort Study

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major infectious disease associated with substantial healthcare burdens. Although previous studies mainly focused on mortality and treatment outcomes, factors associated with TB-related hospitalization have not been sufficiently investigated. The aim of our study was to evaluate clinical factors associated with TB-related hospitalization in patients with TB. Patients diagnosed with TB at Kangwon National University Hospital between January 2024 and December 2025 were included in our study. The primary outcome was TB-related hospitalization during follow-up after TB diagnosis. Hospitalization-free probability was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with hospitalization risk. A total of 81 patients were included; 63 patients were in the outpatient group and 18 patients were in the hospitalization group. The median time to hospitalization was 36 days. The Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) was significantly higher in the hospitalization group (5.78 ± 2.88 vs. 4.16 ± 2.22, p = 0.038). Patients with CCI values ≥ 5 showed significantly lower hospitalization-free probability during the 180-day follow-up period (log-rank p = 0.013). In multivariable Cox hazards regression analysis, both serum creatinine (hazard ratio (HR), 1.599; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.057-2.419; p = 0.026) and CCI (HR, 1.221; 95% CI, 1.018-1.466; p = 0.032) were significantly associated with TB-related hospitalization. A higher comorbidity burden may help identify patients at risk for TB-related hospitalization.