[The epidemiology of tuberculosis in El Ferrol]

This study was undertaken to know the frequency of tuberculosis in El Ferrol and to contribute to the knowledge of the situation in Spain.

A retrospective study of all the cases of tuberculosis diagnosed in the Hospital A. Marcide-Novoa Santos (El Ferrol, Spain) from 1990 to 1993 was performed.

Seven hundred twenty-four patients were diagnosed, with a mean annual prevalence of 83.3/100,000 inhabitants. Six hundred sixty-four cases (430 males [64.8%]) were evaluated. The mean age was 35.5 +/- 19 years with 58.9% under the age of 35. 98.7% of the patients lived in the health care area and 73.2% were admitted, with 13.7% having previous history of tuberculosis. Sixty-one cases (11.1%; Cl: 8.25-13.7) had HIV infection. Diagnosis was microbiological in 505 cases (76%), anatomopathological in 60 (9%) and in 99 (14.9%) diagnosis was achieved by clinical and radiological criteria. Pulmonary localization (67.2%) was the most frequent form and was predominant in males, while lymph node and osteoarticular localizations were more frequent in women. The incidence of bacilliferous patients was 30.7/100,000 inhabitants. A delay of more than one month took place in the diagnosis of 66.4% of the bacilliferous patients.

The incidence of tuberculosis in El Ferrol is very high with an important delay in the diagnosis of bacilliferous patients. The high percentage of patients admitted to hospital carries considerable costs in the treatment of the disease.