Abstract

C. C. Onubogu, C. N. Kunle-Ope*, N. Onyejepu, N. N. Nwokoye, T. Y. Raheem, U. T. Igbasi, N. E. Tochukwu, R. M. Omoloye, C. O. Ejezie, A. Z. Musa, N. N. Odunukwe , D. I. Onwujekwe and E. O. Idigbe

Tuberculosis (TB) still remains a global public health problem of enormous dimension. This study was carried out between March 2007 and June 2008 to determine the prevalence of TB and TB/HIV co-infections amongst patients with bronchopulmonary disorders in Lagos State, Nigeria. 1280 patients were screened for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) by microscopy and culture at the TB reference laboratory of the Nigerian institute of medical research Lagos. Information on HIV status of each patient was obtained from medical records. Of the 1,280 patients, 318 (24.8%) were diagnosed positive for AFB while 236 patients (18.4%) were co-infected with TB and HIV. Amongst the co-infected patients, TB was diagnosed in 45 (14%) by microscopy alone, in 145 (46%) by culture alone and in 46 (15%) by both microscopy and culture. The higher yield of TB cases by culture alone compared to microscopy alone further confirms the higher sensitivity of culture for TB case detection amongst TB/HIV co-infected patients. In addition, the high burden (24.8%) of TB amongst the screened patients calls for differential diagnosis of this infection amongst cases with bronchopulmonary disorders seen in health facilities.