Eight Year Evaluation of HIV/Tuberculosis Co-infection in Patients Admitted to Our Hospital

INTRODUCTION: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a disease that causes serious mortality and morbidity worldwide. Due to the weakening of the immune system, opportunistic infections are common in HIV-positive patients. Tuberculosis, one of the most important of these infections, makes the clinical management of HIV-positive patients even more difficult. In this study, it was aimed to determine the frequency of HIV-tuberculosis coexistence
METHODS: Tuberculosis cultures of 95 HIV/AIDS patients with confirmed diagnosis between 2014-2021 at Recep Tayyip Erdoðan University Training and Research Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The results of the patients whose anti-HIV Elisa test was reactive were confirmed at the Refik Saydam Institute of Hygiene and Public Health. The diagnosis of tuberculosis was made by detection of growth in Löwenstein-Jensen medium and Mycobacteria Polymerase Chain reaction.
RESULTS: We studied a total of 95 HIV positive patients consist of 87(%91.6) males and 8(%8.4) females. Positive tuberculosis culture was detected in 3 (3.1%) of these patients. One of the patients is a foreign national and two of them are Turkish citizens.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Tuberculosis is an important cause of mortality in HIV/AIDS patients. Opportunistic infections in these patients are the cause of serious mortality and morbidity; therefore, early detection and treatment of these diseases is vital. In primary care, HIV-positive patients should be screened for Tuberculosis.