tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Wellcome Open Res
. 2023 Nov 1:8:272.
doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.19275.2. eCollection 2023. Outbreaks of COVID-19 in a tuberculosis treatment sanatorium on the Thailand-Myanmar border: a retrospective cohort analysis
Htet Ko Ko Aung[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lei Lei Swe[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Makoto Saito[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Sophie Lesseps[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Naw Janurian[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Win Pa Pa Tun[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Banyar Maung Maung[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Aung Than[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wanitda Watthanaworawit[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Napaporn Kaewphanderm[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Gornpan Gornsawun[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Aung Pyae Phyo[SUP] 1 [/SUP], François Nosten[SUP] 1 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic condition, with overlapping symptoms to those of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There has been inconsistent evidence on whether TB is a predisposing factor for developing severe COVID-19. The aim of this report is to explore whether TB influences the severity of COVID-19.
Methods: COVID-19 cases at two TB sanatoria on the Thailand-Myanmar border were reviewed. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data including TB treatment and co-morbidities, were analyzed. Characteristics and COVID-19 clinical outcomes were compared between two groups of patients: TB and those without TB (the caretakers and the medical personnel). Multivariable ordered logistic regression was conducted to compare the risk of severe COVID-19 between the two groups.
Results: Between September 2021 and March 2022, 161 COVID-19 cases were diagnosed. Over half of the COVID-19 patients were infected with TB (n= 104, 64.6%), and the rest were not (n=57, 35.4%). The median (interquartile range) age was 48 (33.5-57.0) and 27 (23-33) years in the TB and in the non-TB COVID-19 patients, respectively. Before COVID-19 infection, 67.1% (106/158) of patients had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The median cycle threshold value at diagnosis was not different between TB (18.5, IQR 16.1-32.3) and non-TB patients (18.8, 15.1-30.0). Fever, gastrointestinal symptoms and ageusia were more common in non-TB patients. Six patients (3.8%, 6/156) all from the TB group became severe of which five (3.2%, 5/156) required oxygen therapy. One TB patient died (1/104, 0.96%) of lung cancer. After adjustment for potential confounders, the final clinical severity was not different between the two groups (adjusted odds ratio 1.40, 95% confidence interval 0.16-12.39).
Conclusions: TB was not associated with severe outcomes in the two TB sanatoria. The high uptake of COVID-19 vaccination and active screening could have impacted on disease progression and prevented unfavorable outcomes.
Keywords: Active screening; COVID-19; Coinfection; Tuberculosis; sanatoria.
. 2023 Nov 1:8:272.
doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.19275.2. eCollection 2023. Outbreaks of COVID-19 in a tuberculosis treatment sanatorium on the Thailand-Myanmar border: a retrospective cohort analysis
Htet Ko Ko Aung[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lei Lei Swe[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Makoto Saito[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Sophie Lesseps[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Naw Janurian[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Win Pa Pa Tun[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Banyar Maung Maung[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Aung Than[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wanitda Watthanaworawit[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Napaporn Kaewphanderm[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Gornpan Gornsawun[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Aung Pyae Phyo[SUP] 1 [/SUP], François Nosten[SUP] 1 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 39606691
- PMCID: PMC11600724
- DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.19275.2
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic condition, with overlapping symptoms to those of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There has been inconsistent evidence on whether TB is a predisposing factor for developing severe COVID-19. The aim of this report is to explore whether TB influences the severity of COVID-19.
Methods: COVID-19 cases at two TB sanatoria on the Thailand-Myanmar border were reviewed. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data including TB treatment and co-morbidities, were analyzed. Characteristics and COVID-19 clinical outcomes were compared between two groups of patients: TB and those without TB (the caretakers and the medical personnel). Multivariable ordered logistic regression was conducted to compare the risk of severe COVID-19 between the two groups.
Results: Between September 2021 and March 2022, 161 COVID-19 cases were diagnosed. Over half of the COVID-19 patients were infected with TB (n= 104, 64.6%), and the rest were not (n=57, 35.4%). The median (interquartile range) age was 48 (33.5-57.0) and 27 (23-33) years in the TB and in the non-TB COVID-19 patients, respectively. Before COVID-19 infection, 67.1% (106/158) of patients had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The median cycle threshold value at diagnosis was not different between TB (18.5, IQR 16.1-32.3) and non-TB patients (18.8, 15.1-30.0). Fever, gastrointestinal symptoms and ageusia were more common in non-TB patients. Six patients (3.8%, 6/156) all from the TB group became severe of which five (3.2%, 5/156) required oxygen therapy. One TB patient died (1/104, 0.96%) of lung cancer. After adjustment for potential confounders, the final clinical severity was not different between the two groups (adjusted odds ratio 1.40, 95% confidence interval 0.16-12.39).
Conclusions: TB was not associated with severe outcomes in the two TB sanatoria. The high uptake of COVID-19 vaccination and active screening could have impacted on disease progression and prevented unfavorable outcomes.
Keywords: Active screening; COVID-19; Coinfection; Tuberculosis; sanatoria.