Admissions by tuberculosis in a regional reference Center. A complex and worrying scenario.

Objectives: To characterize clinical aspects, evaluate the diagnostic opportunity, and identify factors associated with mortality in patients hospitalized for tuberculosis (TB).

Methods: Retrospective study of patients admitted for TB to a Regional Hospital in Chile between 2011 and 2019.

Results: 142 TB events required hospitalization in this period (38.2% of total cases). All risk groups were identified, with a significant increase in patients with diabetes mellitus. The pulmonary location was the most frequent (71.1%), followed by disseminated forms (16.2%). The sensitivity of microscopy smear in cases of pulmonary TB (isolated or combined) was 78.8% and lower in cases of bronchoalveolar lavage (58.3%). PCR was only occasionally applied (< 10%) with a sensitivity of 100% in sputum samples. Its use increased progressively and reached a positivity of 33% (6 out of 18 cases) in cases with negative sputum staining. The median time between symptom onset and diagnosis was prolonged (9 weeks), and 32.5% of all regional events were diagnosed at the hospital. Dose adjustments (22.1%), corticosteroid use (25%), and treatment interruptions were frequent (11%). Lethality reached 19%, and by multivariate analysis, only shock was associated with a fatal outcome.

Conclusions: In this case series, the diagnosis of TB cases was delayed, scarcely diagnosed by molecular methods, highly concentrated at the hospital level, required admission in a large percentage of cases, and had a high case-fatality rate.