Corelation of Tuberculosis & Diabetes: A Descriptive Study in Pakistan

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the correlation between diabetes and tuberculosis in our setup. Study Design: Observational, descriptive study. Place & Duration: Department of Medicine, Peoples University of Medical and Health Sciences, Nawabshah, from 1 't January to 3 ist December 2012. Material & Methods: This study was conducted on 100 consecutive patients with concomitant diabetes and tuberculosis getting admitted to Department of Medicine. They were diagnosed based on history, clinical manifestations, laboratory and radiological findings. All adult patients of 18 years or more with newly diagnosed pulmonary TB concomitant with DM were consecutively screened and 100 patients were enrolled for this study. Results: We had a study group between 18-70 years of 62 male and 38 female patients, 30 of them had type-1 and 70 were those with type-2 diabetes mellitus. All of the patients were positive for acid-fast bacilli and had relatively increased random glucose level. Moreover, their erythrocyte sedimentation was markedly raised and 22 of them had bilateral and 50 patients had right lung involvement. Conclusion: Diabetic patients are at risk for developing respiratory tract infections and since diabetes is increasing in Pakistan, there is more chance of rise in its burden and concomitant infections particularly with tuberculosis. Such patients should undergo regular screening to avoid disease severity and simultaneous public health burden.