TY - JOUR T1 - Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of tuberculosis in the elderly JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 40 IS - Suppl 56 SP - P2724 AU - Yong Soo Kwon AU - Su Young Chi AU - Yu Il Kim AU - Sung Chul Lim AU - Yoo Duk Choi Y1 - 2012/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P2724.abstract N2 - BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to describe the differences clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes between elderly TB patients and young TB patients.MethodsThe medical records of 271 young(aged 20 to 64 at diagnosis) and 199 elderly(aged 65 and older) TB patients, who were newly diagnosed with and treated for TB from May 2008 to August 2010, were analyzed retrospectively.ResultsRespiratory symptoms such as cough, sputum, and dyspnea and comorbid medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were more frequent in elderly TB patients. In chest CT scan of pulmonary TB patients, findings of active TB such as nodules (< 30 mm in diameter), masses (> 30 mm in diameter), and cavities were less frequently found in elderly TB patients except consolidations. However in microbiological diagnosis, positive TB culture rates were higher in elderly TB patients. Of those with known results of drug sensitive test, resistance to any drugs were more frequently found in younger TB patients. In adverse drug reactions, the incidences were not different between two groups except severe GI troubles which were more frequently developed in elderly TB patients. There were no significant differences in the rates of treatment success (97% vs. 93.7%, p=0.161), failure (0% vs. 0.7%, p=0.619), and deaths due to TB (0.5% vs. 1.1%, p=0.844) between two groups.ConclusionsElderly TB patients presented more frequent respiratory symptoms and showed less frequent active TB findings on chest CT scan. Treatment success rates of elderly TB patients were not inferior to those of younger TB patients without development of more frequent adverse drug reactions. ER -