Mortality, TB/HIV co-infection, and treatment dropout: predictors of tuberculosis prognosis in Recife, Pernambuco State, Brazil

This non-concurrent cohort study aims to identify predictors of tuberculosis mortality in a large population database in Brazil. Tuberculosis, death, and TB/HIV cases were validated respectively from the tuberculosis surveillance (SINAN/TB), mortality (SIM), and SINAN/AIDS databases for a five-year period. Analysis included proportional hazard models with relative risk estimates. Out of 5,451 individuals reported with tuberculosis, 320 (5.9%) died (incidence and mortality rates of 98.6 and 12.2/100 thousand inhabitants, respectively). After adjustment, relative risk of dying from tuberculosis was 9.8 for individuals>50 years of age; 9.0 for TB/HIV co-infection; 3.0 for mixed TB clinical presentation; and 2.0 for treatment dropout. In the multivariate model, using cases with HIV/AIDS, all adjusted predictors lost significance except mixed clinical presentation (RR 1.9; 1.1-3.1). TB/HIV co-infection is an important predictor of TB mortality. However, among individuals without HIV/AIDS, mortality is still highly associated with older age, mixed clinical forms, and treatment dropout.