Prevalence and Predictors of Anemia among Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Patients in King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah

Introduction: Among multiple hematological changes, anemia is one of the most common hematological problems in patients with tuberculosis (TB). [1] Many studies were conducted in different countries and reported various results [1-2].

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on all TB-positive cases reported to the King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) between January 2012 and January 2021. Detailed demographic and biomedical data were collected from the hospital record section. All culture-confirmed and PCR-positive tuberculosis (TB) cases were included in this study. Categorical baseline characteristics of TB patient has been compared with the anemic status by Fisher's exact and Pearson’s chi-square test. Continuous variables like hematological parameters compared with anemia by t-test. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were done to estimate the association between TB positive cases and the anemic status of the patient.

Results: Out of 695 TB-positive cases, 443 (63.74%) are anemic. Among these anemic patients, most are less than 39 years old; 228 (51.47%), clearly males outnumbered the number females. Approximately 289 (65.24%) are non-Saudi. A majority of the patient, 163 (54.40%), had a BMI range of 18.5 – 24.9. A significant difference had been noticed in the anemic and non-anemic patients in variables like gender, BMI, nationality, and site of TB. In the case of anti-TB drug-resistant cases, the percentages of mild, moderate, and severe anemia are 12.21%, 12.20%, and 13.64%. This study did not find any significant association between DR-TB and anemia.

Conclusion: The prevalence of anemia among TB patients was high. Thus, it warrants frequent screening for anemia in all TB-positive cases to improve mortality and morbidity in these patients.