Predictors of radiological sequelae of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Purpose: In patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, clinical factors that are associated with poor radiological outcome have not been adequately addressed in the medical literature. The aim of this study was to explore some of these factors in patients admitted to a large chest hospital in Saudi Arabia with pulmonary tuberculosis.Material and Methods: Chest radiographs of 1080 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis were reviewed. Post-treatment residual changes were classified from 1 to 5 according to the severity of these changes. Data analysis was done by tabulating these classes against different variables that were likely to influence the final radiological appearance at the end of the treatment period.Results: Near-complete or complete clearance of chest radiography (Class 1) was seen in 43.5% of patients 40 years old (p<0.05). The latter group also had significantly higher rate of pleural thickening (9.4% vs. 3.6%), higher rate of fibronodular densities (24.9...