Admission for tuberculosis to a university hospital *

Patients with active tuberculosis (Tb) may be admitted to a hospital for different conditions, and not have Tb as their main diagnosis. In this study, 141 inpatient Tb cases are analyzed, which were notified to the São Paulo Hospital Central Control of Infectious Diseases from August, 1999, through April, 2001, with identification of causes, risk factors, and hospitalization time. Sixty-three percent of the patients were males, and 37% were females, with a mean age of 38.1 years. Twenty-eight percent of them were smokers, 23% were alcoholics, and 17% were drug addicts. Previous tuberculosis was reported by 23% of the patients. Forty-two of them were HIV-positive. Fifty-four point six percent had pulmonary Tb, 67.5% of which were sputum-positive. Twenty-two percent of the patients presented side effects to the Tb treatment during hospitalization, the most frequent of which were drug-induced hepatitis (65.7%), and gastric intolerance (25.7%). Eight point five percent of the patients required intensive care for an average of 11 days, and 54% stayed in a ward with respiratory isolation. Death occurred in 17.7% of cases, in 52% of them as a consequence of Tb. On the average, the patients stayed at the hospital for 29 days, and in isolation (when necessary) for 18 days. Drug addicted and smoking patients had longer hospitalization times. This was not the case of HIV-positive or sputum-positive patients. (J Pneumol 2003;29(1): 9-14)