M. Bashar et al., Increased incidence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in diabetic patients on the Bellevue Chest Service, 1987 to 1997, CHEST, 120(5), 2001, pp. 1514-1519
Citations number
13
Categorie Soggetti
Cardiovascular & Respiratory Systems","Cardiovascular & Hematology Research
Study objectives: To investigate the characteristics of tuberculosis infect
ion in diabetic patients at Bellevue Hospital.
Design: We conducted a case-control study retrospectively reviewing the rec
ords of patients at Bellevue Hospital Center from 1987 to 1997 with a disch
arge diagnosis of tuberculosis and diabetes mellitus.
Setting: Bellevue Hospital Center is a 1,200-bed, inner-city municipal hosp
ital located in the Lower East Side of New York City.
Patients: Fifty-three identified patients had verified tuberculosis infecti
on and diabetes; of these, 50 charts were available for review. One hundred
five control cases were selected from nondiabetic patients with a discharg
e diagnosis of tuberculosis during the same time period.
Measurements and results: Thirty-six percent (18 cases) of the patients wit
h diabetes and tuberculosis had multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) c
ompared to only 10% (10 cases) in the control group (p<0.01) Controlling fo
r homelessness, HIV status, and directly observed therapy, the relative ris
k of MDR-TB was calculated to be 8.6 (confidence interval, 3.1 to 23.6) in
the diabetic group compared to the control group.
Conclusions: There was a significant association between diabetes and MDR-T
B. Diabetes continues to be a risk factor for tuberculosis and was associat
ed with MDR-TB in our patients.