Clinical and epidemiological features of primary diagnosed tuberculosis in Azerbaijan
The aim was to study the clinical and epidemiological features of tuberculosis (TB) in Azerbaijan. The material for this study was the results of a retrospective and prospective data analysis of 577 male patients with newly diagnosed active tuberculosis who were hospitalized at the Scientific Research Institute of Lung Diseases from 2014 to 2018. The age of the surveyed ranged from 18-49 years. A retrospective analysis of medical histories took into account the number of reported cases (NRC) of various forms of TB, as well as their distribution in the age aspect. During the follow - up period (5 years) the number of cases of TB disease was characterized by ambiguous changes: in 2014 it was 107 cases, in 2016 it was127 cases, and to 2018 it decreased to 113 cases. The highest rates of NRC were observed in the group of 18-29 years old (104 (97.2±1.6%) cases in 2014, 107 (88.4±2.9%) - in 2015, 115 (90.6±2.6%) - in 2016, 100 (91.7±2.6%) - in 2017 and 97 (85.8±3.3%) - in 2018). In the 5-year follow - up period, pulmonary form prevailed. In the dynamics from 2014 to 2018, the percentage ratio of pulmonary and extrapulmonary forms in this age group shifted towards the increase in extrapulmonary.Despite active preventive measures, the situation with TB in Azerbaijan is still quite ten.se. The decrease in the NRC among people aged 18-29 years indicates a positive trend in the epidemiological situation. However, the preservation of sufficiently high values of the NRC among other age groups dictates the need to more closely identify patients with TB, and to increase the effectiveness of preventive measures.