tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Front Med (Lausanne)
. 2021 Dec 1;8:740593.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.740593. eCollection 2021.
Clinical Characteristics, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Mortality Rate of TB/COVID-19 Coinfectetd Patients: A Systematic Review
Maryam Koupaei[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Adel Naimi[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Narges Moafi[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Paria Mohammadi[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Faezeh Sadat Tabatabaei[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Soroosh Ghazizadeh[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Mohsen Heidary[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Saeed Khoshnood[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Introduction: Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and tuberculosis (TB) are the newest and one of the oldest global threats, respectively. In the COVID-19 era, due to the health system's focus on the COVID-19 epidemic, the national TB control program received less attention, leading to a worsening of the global TB epidemic. In this study, we will review the characteristics of TB patients coinfected with COVID-19. Material and Methods: Using Scopus, PubMed/Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases, a systematic search was performed. Case reports and case series on TB/COVID-19 coinfection published from January 1, 2019 to February 24, 2021 were collected. There were no limitations regarding publication language. Results: Eleven case series and 20 case reports were identified from 18 countries, with the majority them being from India (N = 6) and China (N = 4). Overall, 146 patients (114 men and 32 women) coinfected with TB and COVID-19 enrolled. Smoking (15.1%), diabetes (14.4%), and hypertension (8.9%) were the most frequent comorbidities among these patients. The COVID-19 patients with TB mainly suffered fever (78.8%), cough (63.7%), and respiratory distress (22.6%). Hydroxychloroquine (64.0%) and lopinavir/ritonavir (39.5%) were the most common treatments for them. The mortality rate was 13.0% and the rate of discharged patients was 87.0%. Conclusion: Global prevalence of COVID-19-related deaths is 6.6%. Our results showed that 13.0% of patients with TB/COVID-19 died. Thus, this study indicated that coinfection of TB and COVID-19 can increase the mortality. The respiratory symptoms of TB and COVID-19 are very similar, and this causes them to be misdiagnosed. In addition, TB is sometimes diagnosed later than COVID-19 and the severity of the disease worsens, especially in patients with underlying conditions. Therefore, patients with TB should be screened regularly in the COVID-19 era to prevent the spread of the TB/COVID-19 coinfection.
Keywords: COVID-19; TB; coinfection; review; tuberculosis.
. 2021 Dec 1;8:740593.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.740593. eCollection 2021.
Clinical Characteristics, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Mortality Rate of TB/COVID-19 Coinfectetd Patients: A Systematic Review
Maryam Koupaei[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Adel Naimi[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Narges Moafi[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Paria Mohammadi[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Faezeh Sadat Tabatabaei[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Soroosh Ghazizadeh[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Mohsen Heidary[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Saeed Khoshnood[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34926494
- PMCID: PMC8671757
- DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2021.740593
Abstract
Introduction: Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and tuberculosis (TB) are the newest and one of the oldest global threats, respectively. In the COVID-19 era, due to the health system's focus on the COVID-19 epidemic, the national TB control program received less attention, leading to a worsening of the global TB epidemic. In this study, we will review the characteristics of TB patients coinfected with COVID-19. Material and Methods: Using Scopus, PubMed/Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases, a systematic search was performed. Case reports and case series on TB/COVID-19 coinfection published from January 1, 2019 to February 24, 2021 were collected. There were no limitations regarding publication language. Results: Eleven case series and 20 case reports were identified from 18 countries, with the majority them being from India (N = 6) and China (N = 4). Overall, 146 patients (114 men and 32 women) coinfected with TB and COVID-19 enrolled. Smoking (15.1%), diabetes (14.4%), and hypertension (8.9%) were the most frequent comorbidities among these patients. The COVID-19 patients with TB mainly suffered fever (78.8%), cough (63.7%), and respiratory distress (22.6%). Hydroxychloroquine (64.0%) and lopinavir/ritonavir (39.5%) were the most common treatments for them. The mortality rate was 13.0% and the rate of discharged patients was 87.0%. Conclusion: Global prevalence of COVID-19-related deaths is 6.6%. Our results showed that 13.0% of patients with TB/COVID-19 died. Thus, this study indicated that coinfection of TB and COVID-19 can increase the mortality. The respiratory symptoms of TB and COVID-19 are very similar, and this causes them to be misdiagnosed. In addition, TB is sometimes diagnosed later than COVID-19 and the severity of the disease worsens, especially in patients with underlying conditions. Therefore, patients with TB should be screened regularly in the COVID-19 era to prevent the spread of the TB/COVID-19 coinfection.
Keywords: COVID-19; TB; coinfection; review; tuberculosis.