High mortality due to gastrointestinal TB in HIV and non-HIV patients.

Due to the reported low incidence of gastrointestinal TB, there is a lack of data related to the prognosis, risk factors and frequency of resistant TB in this subgroup of patients. To report the clinical presentation, diagnostic methods, treatment and outcomes in gastrointestinal TB. We prospectively studied the demographic, clinical, and paraclinical data of all consecutive gastrointestinal TB inpatients over an 8-year period. We identified gastrointestinal TB in 28 (3.5%) out of 799 inpatients with TB infection. Seven patients (25%) were HIV-positive. Overall mortality was 35.7%, with the combined variable of haemoglobin <12 g/dL and albumin <2.8 g/dL being independently associated with mortality (OR 25.7, 95% CI 1.405-471.1, = 0.029). No difference in the need for surgery (28.6% vs. 47.6%, = 0.662), occurrence of septic shock (14.3 vs. 23.8%, = 1.00) or mortality (14.3% vs. 42.9%, = 0.364) was found between HIV and non-HIV patients. Gastrointestinal TB was rare among TB patients in Hospital Universitario "Dr José E. González" (3.5%), but had a high mortality rate (35.7%). Clinical evolution, drug susceptibility patterns and outcomes were similar in HIV and non-HIV patients. In both groups, the combined haemoglobin and albumin variable on admission was clearly associated with mortality.