Co-infection of COVID-19 and tuberculosis in a tertiary care hospital

Introduction: The burden of Tuberculosis (TB) has managed to remain an age old menace to our society, especially India. The potential impact of Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) on TB patients continues to be worrisome due to the disruption of the national program and its services. Aim: To compare the TB infection in COVID-19 vs non-COVID-19 patients. Materials and Methods: The study was undertaken at Department of Microbiology, ABVIMS, Dr. RML Hospital Delhi, India. The data was collected, retrospectively from 15th September 2020 to 15th January 2021 from admitted 1094 non-COVID-19 and 150 COVID-19 patients, >18 years of age, either sex. Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) was done to diagnose COVID-19 and GeneXpert was used to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The data entry was done in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and the final analysis was done with the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 21.0. Two by two contingency table was used for calculating the Odd’s ratio. results: During the study period, 1094 samples were received from non-COVID-19 ward and 150 from COVID-19 ward. Out of 150 COVID-19 positive patients, 30 (20%) were also positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex (MTBC) and 120 (80%) were negative for MTBC. Out of 1094 COVID-19 negative patients, 98 (8.96%) were positive for MTBC and 996 (91.04%) were negative for MTBC. The Odd’s ratio/Risk Ratio (RR) of TB infection in COVID-19 infected patients was 3.08 {Confidence Interval (CI) 95%}. The mortality was 10% in the COVID-19 positive group. conclusion: It was observed that the chances of contracting TB are thrice in COVID-19 patients and thus TB diagnosis should be equally emphasised and further strengthened in this ongoing pandemic.