Pulmonary Tuberculosis in HIV/AIDS Patients Attending Art Clinic in Bududa General Hospital, Bududa District, Uganda

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis disease affects survival among HIV co-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy. Prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis in western Uganda is 15.3% and 7.2% in Tororo, Eastern Uganda. A study in Kampala revealed Tuberculosis prevalence among immuno-incompetent group at 10%. To assess the prevalence of Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) infection in HIV/AIDS patients attending ART clinic in Bududa general hospital, Bududa district, a hospital-based, cross-sectional study was carried out. Methods and materials: Two hundred thirty eight (238) HIV/AIDS positive patients attending ART clinic were recruited using consecutive simple non-probability sampling on consenting. Data collection guide was used to capture the socio-demographic information from study participants and two sputum samples (spot and early morning samples) were obtained from each participant, and processed using Hot Ziehl Neelsen for Tubercle Bacilli. Data collected was entered into MS Excel spreadsheets and Statistical Package of Social Sciences was used for descriptive data analysis and outputs in form of percentages, figures and tables presented. Results: Out of 238 study participants recruited, 14/238 were positive for Acid Fast Bacilli (AFB); giving a prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis at 5.9% (14/238) and the most affected age group was between 26 - 35 years with the prevalence of 3.4%. More females (65.6%) participated in the study than males (34.4%). Conclusion: Tuberculosis remains a health challenge in HIV/AIDS positive people in Bududa district and there is need for early screening of all HIV patients for TB as part of their routine and intensification to follow up TB positive patients. We recommend large-scale studies on the trends in TB/HIV co-infection and associated factors should be carried out in this area. In addition, we recommend intensification of public awareness campaign about TB infection in relation to its transmission, prevention and control.