Arslan Ahmad Salam, Sana Rehman.
Frequency and type of addiction among tuberculosis patients.
Pak J Med Res Jan ;52(3):64-6.

Background: Tuberculosis is a major health problem and addiction to either tobacco, drugs or both are considered as major risk factors for the spread of disease. Objectives: To determine the frequency and type of tobacco and other drug addictions in patients suffering from any type of tuberculosis. Study type, settings and duration: Cross-sectional, descriptive study done by PMRC TB research center, at Institute of Chest Medicine; King Edward Medical University/Mayo Hospital Lahore from March 2012 to July 2012. Patients and Methods: All patients confirmed with Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, either pulmonary or extra pulmonary, were included in the study. A semi structured questionnaire was used to record the information relating to personal profile, microbiological data and the information relating to the drug and tobacco addiction. Results: A total of 202 patients were selected out of whom 110(54.5%) had pulmonary tuberculosis, 91(45%) extra pulmonary tuberculosis and 1(0.5%) had both pulmonary and extra pulmonary tuberculosis. Among 202 cases, 40(19.8%) were addicted to tobacco (35 males, 5 females) and 5 were drug addicts (4 males 1female) while 8 (all males) were both tobacco and drug addicts. After tobacco addiction, cocaine and alcohol were the most common addictions in these tuberculosis patients. Conclusion: Almost 20% patients with tuberculosis are addicted to tobacco or drugs.

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