INTRODUCTION:
This
prospective cross-sectional hospital-based study was carried out in order to
assess the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B
virus (HBV) infections among patients with active tuberculosis (TB) disease
attending an Outpatient Department (OPD) at the Model Rural Health Research
Unit in Ghatampur, a rural village in Kanpur district.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
The
socio-demographic features and clinical profile of the TB patients were
analysed in the context of symptoms at the time of testing. The HIV and HBV
status were determined and correlated with clinical features at the time of
testing.
RESULTS:
In our
study, the prevalence of HIV infection among TB patients is 1.48% (18/1215) and
that of HBsAg reactivity was found to be 2.96% (36/1215). During 2007-2010, the
HIV-positivity varied between 1.5% and 1.45% whereas HBV reactivity ranged
between 2.4% and 3.63%.A substantial percentage of the TB patients attending
the OPD in Ghatampur harbour HIV and HBV infections, which otherwise would
remain undiagnosed without serological screening.
CONCLUSION:
Co
infection with HBV among TB patients potentiate the risk of anti-tuberculous
therapy-induced hepatotoxicity, therefore, exercising caution and carefully
monitoring the patients for drugs associated hepatotoxicity is essential. There
is an urgent need to perform population-based surveys of HIV and hepatitis
infections among TB patients to assess the true extent of the problem. Efforts
should be made to make physicians aware of the peculiarities and manage these
patients effectively.
Below: Depicts the trend of HIV and HBV-positivity among TB patients from year 2007 to 2010
Below Depicts the socio-demographic profile of HIV-positive/HIV-negative TB patients and HBV-reactive/non-reactive TB patients
- 1Regional Medical Reasearch Centre, Bhubaneswar, Odisha-751 023; Clinical Division-I, National JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases (ICMR), Tajganj, Agra-282 001, Uttar pradesh, India.
