title: Clinical epidemiology and paraclinical findings in tuberculosis patients in north of Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.TB) causes a wide spectrum of clinical diseases. The prevalence of TB is different in various parts of Iran and throughout the world. The present study aimed to determine the clinical epidemiology and paraclinical findings of TB.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted from 2008 to 2013. Patient demographic, clinical, and radiologic characteristics, picked up from the TB patient's files, were collected using a standard questionnaire format. Data was entered and analyzed using the SPSS version 16 statistical software and P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 212 patients enrolled in this study 62% were male and the mean age was about 50 years old. 98.6% were Iranian, and 46.2% were rural. Prevalence of smear-positive TB was 66.4%. Prevalence of positive PPD was 50.7% with no significant difference between HIV-positive and -negative patients (P = 0.8). Prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 17%. 36% of the patients had history of smoking and about 29.3% were addicted to narcotics. Cough was the most common symptom (94.5%) and 84% had sputum. 15 cases (7%) had extrapulmonary TB. The mean time between the onset of symptoms and admission was 46.5 days. The delay for admission between urban and rural populations was not significantly different (P = 0.68); but for those who were in prison, the delay was significant (P = 0.02). About 46% of the patients had cavitary lesions in CXRs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Timely diagnosis of TB especially in prisoners by understanding its most important epidemiologic characteristics and clinical features can help to make an early treatment and prevent spread of mycobacteria and their complications.
authors.affiliation: Antimicrobial Resistance Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Farhang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Babamahmoodi
authors.affiliation: Antimicrobial Resistance Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alikhani
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Health Sciences Research Center, Faculty of Health, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Jamshid
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yazdani Charati
authors.affiliation: Antimicrobial Resistance Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghovvati
authors.affiliation: Antimicrobial Resistance Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ahangarkani
authors.affiliation: Antimicrobial Resistance Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Delavarian
authors.affiliation: Health Management Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Abdolreza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Babamahmoodi
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012907:Smoking; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000453:epidemiology*