title: Mortality among patients with tuberculosis requiring intensive care: a retrospective cohort study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To describe the characteristics of patients with tuberculosis (TB) requiring intensive care and to identify the factors that predicts in-hospital mortality in a city of a developing country with intermediate-to-high TB endemicity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a retrospective, cohort study, between November 2005 and November 2007. The patients with TB requiring intensive care were included. Predictors of mortality were assessed. The primary outcome was the in-hospital mortality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the study period, 67 patients with TB required intensive care. Of them, 62 (92.5%) had acute respiratory failure and required mechanical ventilation. Forty-four (65.7%) patients died. Coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus was present in 46 (68.7%) patients. Early intensive care unit admission and ventilator-associated pneumonia were independently associated with the in-hospital mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study we found a high mortality rate in TB patients requiring intensive care, especially in those with an early ICU admission.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. denise.rossato@terra.com.br
authors.forename: Denise R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Diego M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Menegotto
authors.forename: Luis F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.forename: Marcelo B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Gazzana
authors.forename: Paulo Tr
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Dalcin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003422:Critical Care; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy*; D014505:Urban Population