Vol. 6, Issue 1, Part A (2024)

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an international public health problem. Drug resistant tuberculosis is a considerable global health risk, leading the ongoing TB epidemic and increasing the morbidity and mortality of TB worldwide. Incomplete and insufficient therapeutic regimens can result in antimicrobial resistance.
Aim: is to identify the characteristics of patients with drug resistance pulmonary tuberculosis.
Patients and Methods: A cross sectional study, including 103 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, who attended Consultant Clinic for Chest and Respiratory Diseases in Kirkuk in the period from November 2022 to March 2023. The patients were divided in two groups: drug susceptible group, includes 50 new patients who never receive antituberculosis treatment previously (no drug resistance) and drug resistance group, includes 53 patients received antituberculosis treatment previously for at least 4 weeks with sputum smear positive and had positive GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay.
Results: The mean age of patients in drug susceptible group and drug resistance group was (45.5 vs. 55.5) years with a significant difference between them and age group >65 years was significantly higher in drug resistance group as 32.08%. Moreover, smoking history and primary school education were more frequent in drug resistance group as 60.38% and 58.49% respectively than drug susceptible group. Diabetes mellitus was more frequent in drug-resistance group (32.08%) than drug- susceptible group (20%). The most common symptoms of pulmonary TB in drug susceptible group and drug resistance group were cough (100% vs. 92.45%) fever (74% vs. 81.13%) and sputum production (82% vs. 50.94%) respectively. Furthermore, the most common radiological findings in drug susceptible group and drug resistance group were non-homogenous opacity (56% vs. 52.83%), cavity lesion (48% vs. 58.49%) and consolidation (60% vs.
49.06%) respectively.
Conclusions: Smoking, low level of education, old age and diabetes mellitus are risk factors of drug resistance pulmonary TB. There are no radiological differences between drug-susceptible and drug-resistance pulmonary TB patients.