Aspectos epidemiológicos, clínicos e evolutivos da tuberculose em idosos de um hospital universitário de Belém - Pará

Abstract

Physiological changes, especially the immune, make the most vulnerable elderly to infections such as tuberculosis, a disease that this group is specific both in clinical presentation and in its therapeutic management. The objective was to evaluate the epidemiological, clinical and evolutionary aspects of tuberculosis in elderly patients at a university hospital in Belém - Para. It is a study of a retrospective cohort study, conducted at the University Hospital João de Barros Barreto, where 82 records were analyzed of cases of tuberculosis in elderly patients diagnosed from 2009 to 2013, and as a complementary way of obtaining information was obtained from the database of the National System for Notifiable Diseases of the State Department of Public Health. For statistical analysis we used the electronic program Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0, and applied the test G, assuming level α = 0,05 (5%) and value P≤0,05. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Tropical Medicine Center under Opinion No. 1.081.347. Most elderly were male (n = 53; 64,6%), aged 60-69 years, both among men (n = 34; 64,2%) and among women (n =13; 44,8%), with a statistically significant difference (p=0,009), new cases of tuberculosis (n = 78; 95,1%), with pulmonary clinical form (n = 62; 75,6%), associated diseases (n = 57; 69,5%) and length of stay greater than 21 days (n = 38; 46,3%). Fever (n = 55; 67,1%), dyspnea (n =53; 64,6%), weight loss (n =50; 61,0%), productive cough (n = 49; 59,8%) and chest pain (n=42; 51,2%) were the primary signs and symptoms evidenced. Regarding treatment, there was a high percentage of adverse events (n=41; 50%), especially gastrointestinal symptoms (n = 29; 70,7%). Most seniors evolved with cure (n = 49; 59,8%), but emphasizes that death from tuberculosis was considerable in the study group (n=13; 15,9%), mainly occurring during hospitalization up 7 days. As for the exposure variables and outcome for healing and death from tuberculosis, there was a statistically significant difference in the age range of variables (p = 0,017), length of stay (p = 0,000) and adverse reactions (p = 0,018). We conclude that the clinical presentation and therapeutic management of tuberculosis in the elderly is different, so it is necessary to strengthen strategies that facilitate early identification of TB suspects elderly in the community, which should take place mainly through Primary.