[Tuberculosis as cause of death]

Despite the availability of an effective treatment for most cases, tuberculosis (TB) is still a cause of death in our environment. The necropsic sections of patients died because of TB during the 1987-1996 period at Hospital Clínico de San Carlos, Madrid, were reviewed. The investigated data from each patient included age, gender, chronology of suggestive symptoms of TB, degree of histological involvement, radiological pattern in chest X-ray, delay in initiating therapy, concomitant diseases and other alternative diagnosed considered. The delay in diagnosis was the main cause for TB mortality. Advanced age, delay in seeking medical care and the presence of atypical clinical and radiological patterns contributed to the fatal end. Other factors included alcoholism and immunodeficiency.