Frequency of Bronchiectasis in Tuberculosis Patients: A Study from a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading killers among the infectious diseases. Despite enormous efforts by the health care authorities, its prevalence and related complications cause significant morbidity and mortality globally. Almost one-quarter of the human population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Objective: To determine the frequency of bronchiectasis in tuberculosis patients. Methodology: We conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional study in the Pulmonology ward of Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad from November 2021 to May 2022. Patients of both genders having an age between 16 and 80 years with active or past TB were included. The diagnosis of TB was made by detection of MTB in sputum via microscopy, Gene Xpert, or culture. The bronchiectasis cases included those patients with findings of signet ring appearance or cylindrical/saccular dilatation of the bronchi affecting at least three lung segments on HRCT chest. Results: One hundred and seventeen patients were studied. The mean age of all TB patients was 52.8% ± 7.3 years. Among all studied patients, 51.3% (n = 60) were male and 48.7% (n = 57) were female patients. The difference in age and gender distribution was not significant in TB patients. The frequency of bronchiectasis in TB patients was 49.6% (n = 58), which was found to be statistically significant (p<0.03). Conclusion: This finding underscores the chronic morbidity associated with TB, even after successful treatment. The significant prevalence of bronchiectasis (49.6%) in TB patients indicates the need for routine follow-up and high-resolution imaging in individuals with a history of TB to ensure early diagnosis and management of bronchiectasis.