Profile of Patients with Active Tuberculosis Admitted to a Respiratory Intensive Care Unit in a Tertiary Care Center of North India

Background: There is a paucity of literature regarding outcome of critically ill patients with tuberculosis (TB) from India. Herein, we describe our experience of patients with active TB admitted to a Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) of a tertiary care hospital. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of all the patients admitted with active TB. The baseline clinical, demographic, ICU parameters and mortality were recorded. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors predicting mortality. Results: A total 3630 patients were admitted to the ICU during the study period; of these, 63 (1.7%) patients (mean [standard deviation (SD)] age 37.3 [19] years, 55.6% females) were admitted with active TB. Fifty-seven patients were mechanically ventilated (56, invasive and 1, noninvasive) for a mean (SD) duration of 7.5 (9.1) days. Respiratory failure was the most common indication for mechanical ventilation. TB-related acute respiratory distress syndrome was seen in 18 (28.6%) patients. There were 28 deaths (44.4%) during the study period. On a multivariate logistic regression analysis, a high baseline Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score (odds ratio [OR] [95 confidence interval (CI)], 1.12 [1.02-1.23]) and delta Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) (OR [95 CI], 1.39 [1.00-1.94]) were the independent predictors of mortality. Conclusion: TB was an uncommon cause of ICU admission even in a high TB burden country. Critically ill patients with TB had high mortality. A higher APACHE II score and delta SOFA were independent predictors of ICU mortality.