The Prevalence and Spectrum of Fungal Pathogens and among Confirmed Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients at Saint Peter’s Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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Date
2022-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Background: Fungal infections were a major cause of morbidity and mortality in confirmed patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis. These infections had clinical and radiological characteristics of similar to tuberculosis which may be easily misdiagnosed as tuberculosis. Fungal pulmonary infection could be acquired in tuberculosis, immune deficiency patients, and other chronic diseases. Many physicians missed fungal pulmonary infection because it does not show specific clinical manifestations. The burden of sever fungal infections was not well addressed in Ethiopia. So, this study was undertaken to determine the profile of fungal pathogens and co-infections among pulmonary tuberculosis confirmed patients at Saint Peter’s Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2020 - June 2021. Five hundred sputum samples were collected from pulmonary tuberculosis confirmed patients who were screened by Xpert MTBRif/assay.All sputum samples were inoculated to Sabrouad dextrose agar, Brain Heart Infusion agar and Potato Dextrose agar. Fungi were identified following standard microbiological procedures. The inoculated Medias were incubated at 250C and 37 0C for 4 weeks respectively for each sputum samples. Mold identifications were performed by macroscopically; looking the growth form and rate of growth, surface and reversed coloration and by its microscopic appearance. Yeasts were identified by Chromo agar medium used for Candida species and urease used for Cryptococcus neoformans. Data analyses were carried out using SPSS version 20 software.
Result: In this study, out of 500 sputum samples taken from TB c o n f i r m e d patients,
3 2 2 ( 64.4%) o f t h e m w e r e i n f e c t e d b y pulmonary fungal isolates. Male patients accounted for2 2 0 ( 6 8 . 3 %)whereas female patients accounted for 102 (31.7%).Yeast isolates 89 (27.6%),mold isolates were 71(22%), and mixed infections showed in 162 (50.3%) patients.
Conclusion: High distribution of fungal isolation (64.4%) was obtained in patients with confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis. We recommend for policymaker’s to conduct further
studies and consider the need of fungal screening in these patients. Pulmonary mycoses can be misdiagnosed and mis- treated as pulmonary tuberculosis diseases. Our study indicates that fungal etiology mustberequiredin100%theclinicallyconfirmed pulmonary tuberculosis patients.
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Keywords
Fungal co-infection, pulmonary Tuberculosis, Ethiopia