Tuberculosis and COVID-19: Navigating Challenges in Diagnosis, Treatment, and Global Health
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65761/jbs.v2.i1.8Keywords:
Tuberculosis; COVID-19; Co-infection; Diagnostic challenges; Global healthAbstract
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are major global respiratory health challenges, whose concurrent occurrence has intensified clinical, diagnostic, and public health complexities.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the interplay between TB and COVID-19, focusing on co-infection patterns, clinical manifestations, treatment delays, and healthcare system disruptions.
Methods: Descriptive and analytical strategy was used with 320 patients at health facilities in Karachi, Pakistan between January and December 2024. Demographic, comorbidity, symptom pattern, laboratory diagnostics and treatment history data had been gathered and compared.
Results: 210 of the participants were TB-only, 80 were COVID-19-only, and 30 were co-infected. Co-infected individuals were more symptomatic with respiratory symptoms, took longer time to initiate treatment (mean 22 days), spent more time in hospital, and were dead (20) as compared to TB-only (5) and COVID-19-only (8) groups. Close clinical manifestations such as cough, fever, fatigue, and dyspnea, added to the difficulty in diagnosis. Meds and other healthcare providers cited operational obstacles, including inadequate diagnostics capacity, interrupted drug distribution chains, and resource limitations.
Conclusion: The results highlight the importance of integrative strategies of diagnosis and treatment, effective surveillance systems, and equal access to health care as the primary tools to cope with the dual burden. International preparedness and coordinated response should be strengthened to enhance global mitigation of the synergies of TB and COVID-19 and to maintain respiratory disease control.
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