Co-infection of COVID-19 and Tuberculosis

OBJECTIVE: Tuberculosis and COVID-19 diseases occur more frequently in people with similar risk factors. This study aimed to share the data on active tuberculosis patients during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The registration information of TB outpatient clinic between November 1, 2019, and April 20, 2020, was screened. A 7-question survey was administered to the patients who were diagnosed with active tuberculosis and who were agreed to participate in the study. RESULTS: A total of 309 patients with active tuberculosis were evaluated, the average age of the patients was 42.5 +/- 18.5 years, and 70% were male. The percentage of having at least 1 comorbidity was 30.4%. The percentage of coronavirus disease 2019 disease in our study population was 1.9%; none of the patients of coronavirus disease 2019 were taken into the intensive care unit or dead due to clinical deterioration and/or respiratory failure. On the other hand, in this process it was announced that 146 457 cases were diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 throughout the country, of which 72% had inpatient treatment, 2% died, and 944 patients were still being treated in the intensive care unit, of which 490 were intubated. The positivity ratio of the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test was 20.0% in the study group, while 20.3% in the Istanbul population. CONCLUSION: Tuberculosis patients might be more disadvantageous than the normal population in terms of the risk of exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, but this does not cause an increase in the frequency and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 disease in active tuberculosis patients.