Tuberculosis Tobacco Association

The evaluation of the influence of smoking on the progression of pulmonary tuberculosis is of fundamental importance for the follow-up of the disease. The aim of this work is to analyze. This association from epidemiological, clinical, biological and radiological data .It was a retrospective case-control study conducted on 75 patients with tuberculosis and 75 controls with tuberculosis who were not smokers and who were followed up in three hospitals in the Bizerte region over a period of 12 years. The mean age was 29.45±6.3 years in the smoking TB patients and 30.85±6 years in the controls. Compared to controls, the time to diagnosis was significantly longer and bacilloscopy positivity was more frequent in TB smokers. Radiological abnormalities were more important in the group of tuberculosis smokers with more extensive progressive or sequelae pulmonary lesions. The association of tuberculosis and smoking modifies the clinical and radiological aspect of tuberculosis and conditions its evolution. Smoking cessation must be an integral part of the management of smokers with tuberculosis.