Epidemiological, clinical, microbiological and therapeutic differences in tuberculosis disease in patients with and without HIV infection

Abstract Background and objective Our objective is to analyze the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in our population and to compare the characteristics of patients with and without HIV infection. Patients and methods Clinical-epidemiological retrospective cohort study that included patients diagnosed with TB with and without HIV infection between 2005 and 2016 in the province of Guadalajara (Spain). Epidemiological, clinical, microbiological and therapeutic variables were assessed, including microbiological resistances. Results TB was diagnosed in 261 patients. There were 25 patients (9.6%) who had HIV infection. Patients with HIV infection were predominantly males, had higher incidence of hepatitis C virus, a higher percentage of extrapulmonary TB, a higher prevalence of resistance to isoniazid and rifampicin, a greater paradoxical response and a longer average hospital stay. On the other hand, they had a lower percentage of positive tuberculin skin test and positive sputum smear (microscopy). A significant percentage of TB patients had no serology for HIV. Conclusion Patients with HIV infection show remarkable differences in epidemiological, clinical and resistance variables to antituberculosis drugs. A high percentage of patients with TB were not tested for HIV.