Clinical characterization of tuberculosis in the municipality of Matanzas. 2010-2014 years

Abstract

Introduction: tuberculosis is the oldest of the pandemics and causes around 1.7 million of death and 9 million of cases every year, being a reemerging disease in Cuba. That is why a retrospective, descriptive, observational study was carried out in the municipality of Matanzas in the period between January 2010 and December 2014.

Objective: to determine the clinical behavior of tuberculosis.

Materials and methods: the universe of study was the total of 41 patients diagnosed with tuberculosis in the municipality of Matanzas in the studied period. Data were obtained from the Department of Statistics of the Municipal Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology.

Results: male sex predominated with 87.8 % of the patients in the age group of 60 years and more (34.15 %). The most vulnerable group was the one of the alcoholics with 50.09 %, followed by the patients aged 60 years or more, with 34.14 %. The predominating diagnosis was the one obtained through passive screening, for 65.85 % of the patients. The most frequent symptom was cough in 85.35 of the patients, followed by expectoration and dyspnea, with 68.29 % and 65.85 respectively. The death rate for tuberculosis in the studied five-year period was 0.36 x 100 000 inhabitants.

Conclusions: Tuberculosis diagnosis was more frequent in male sex, in the age group of 60 years-old and more and in alcoholics. The most frequent symptoms were cough, expectoration and dyspnea. Passive screening predominated in the diagnosis