Radiological and clinical pattern of pulmonary Tuberculosis in selected TB clinics in Khartoum

摘要

160 adult tuberculous patients were selected randomly from Al shaab and Abu Anja hospital, to (1) study the clino-radiological pattern of the disease, (2) to determine the percentage of radiologically-positive patients and (3) to study the frequency of the initial presenting symptoms and to correlate them with their x-ray findings. A flow-sheet was filled and proper clinical examination was conducted for each patient. Tuberclin test, 3 sputa examinations, ESR and chest x-ray were done for every patient. Three quarters of the patients were males in the young age group and most of the patients were of low socioeconomic status. The main presenting symptoms were productive cough, chest pain, dysnoea, fever, weight loss and malaise. Patients presented rather late, with a mean period of four months. 57 % of patients were sputum positive, 80% Tuberclin-positive and 98% had a high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). 15% of patients had radiological features of primary diseases of which hilar lymph-adenopathy was the commonest, while consolidation was the commonest parenchymal lesion. In post-primary disease fibrocavitory type was the commonest and together with exudative lesions constituted 98% of parenchymal lesions. 90% of patients had typical upper or middle zone infiltrates and 10% had lower lung field tuberculosis. 14% of patients had pleural effusion. 60% of patients had moderate disease extent in the chest, 30% far-advanced and 10% minimal lesions in their chest x-ray.(Author) 134 ref. , 17 tabs. , 23 fig.