Tuberc Respir Dis.  2010 Sep;69(3):163-170.

Characteristics of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Elderly People

• Shin JY
• Jung SY
• Lee JE
• Park JW
• Yoo SJ
• Park HS
• Kim JO
• Kim SY

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Pulmonary tuberculosis remains a health concern in Korea despite major progress in the development of new strategies for diagnosing and treating tuberculosis. In particular, the diagnosis of newly developed pulmonary tuberculosis is on the rise in elderly persons. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical, radiographic characteristics, and treatment outcomes of pulm onary tuberculosis in the elderly.
METHODS
The medical records of 113 young (<65 years old) and 112 elderly (> or =65 years old) pulmonary tuberculosis patients diagnosed at Chungnam National University hospital between January 2007 and December 2008 were reviewed.
RESULTS
There was no difference in the prevalence of typical symptoms between the younger and the elderly group. Dypsnea was the only symptom that occurred more frequently in the elderly group (16.8% vs 5.5%, p=0.008). On radiological study, pneumonic infiltration type was more common in the elderly group (28.6% vs 16.8%, p=0.035). Sputum Acid fast bacilli smear positivity rate was similar between the 2 groups. Elderly patients with anti-tuberculosis medication had more frequent adverse drug reactions; however, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups in the number of patients required to stop medication due to an adverse drug reaction. There were more patients lost to follow-up in the elderly group (22/112, 19.6% vs 11/113, 9.7%, p=0.036).
CONCLUSION
The majority of elderly patients did not complete the treatment, resulting in a poorer outcome. Therefore, we need to make an effort to support the continued screening of elderly patients by making this economically feasible.

Keyword

Tuberculosis, Pulmonary; Aged; Patient Compliance

MeSH Terms

Aged
Drug Toxicity
Humans
Korea
Lost to Follow-Up
Mass Screening
Medical Records
Patient Compliance
Prevalence
Sputum
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

Figure

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  Figure 1 Age associated decrease in percentage of cure rates in pulmonary tuberculosis (p=0.033).

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