Tuberculosis as primary cause of death among AIDS cases in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
METHODS
Data from the mortality database, Rio de Janeiro City (RJC) Health Department, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the role played by tuberculosis (TB) in Brazil's human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive population, we investigated the frequency of TB as the primary cause of death among HIV-positive subjects in RJC.


METHODS
Information about acquired immune-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) deaths from 1996 to 2005 in individuals aged >12 years was obtained from the Mortality Information System (SIM), and the cause of death was classified according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), through primary causes coded in Chapter I--B20 to B24 (HIV disease).


RESULTS
There were 8601 AIDS-related deaths in RJC between 1996 and 2005. TB was the primary cause of death in 9.0% of all AIDS-related deaths, while Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) accounted for 4.7%. TB cases erroneously classified under other infectious diseases may have contributed to an underestimation of the number of TB deaths among HIV-positive patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study showed that TB is the leading cause of AIDS-related deaths and is responsible for twice as many deaths as PCP, in a scenario of free access to antiretrovirals. The potential benefits of TB preventive treatment and of the availability of highly active antiretroviral treatment could not be established by this analysis.
Saraceni
V
V
Rio de Janeiro City Health Secretariat, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. valsaraceni@gmail.com
King
B S
BS
Cavalcante
S C
SC
Golub
J E
JE
Lauria
L M
LM
Moulton
L H
LH
Chaisson
R E
RE
Durovni
B
B
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D000328:Adult; D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002423:Cause of Death; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*
D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents