[Clinical features and course of patients with tuberculosis requiring intensive care].

Background: To describe the characteristics of patients with tuberculosis (TB) requiring intensive care and to identify the risk factors for mortality.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, cohort study, between January 2006 and December 2009. The patients with TB, admitted in Pneumology Clinic Hospital, Iasi, requiring advanced life support in intensive care unit (ICU), were included. We assessed different clinical parameters to identify the factors that predict in-hospital mortality. The primary outcome was the in-hospital mortality.

Results: During the study period, 27 patients with TB required intensive care. Of them, 16 (59.3%) had acute respiratory failure and 6 (22.2%) required mechanical ventilation. Eighteen (66.7%) patients died. Acute respiratory failure, acute hepatic failure and mechanical ventilation significantly correlate with a high in-hospital mortality rate.

Conclusions: In this study we found a high mortality rate in TB patients requiring intensive care, identifying some risk factors.