A 4 Year Analysis of Seasonality and Trends of Tuberculosis from 2016 to 2019 at a Tertiary Care Center in North Delhi

Purpose: Tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and transmitted by untreated smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis cases while coughing, and sneezing. This retrospective study was aimed to assess the tuberculosis seasonality and trend analysis among patients attending various clinics of Hindu Rao Hospital between 2016-2019. Methods: Retrospective data analysis of samples sent to Mycobacteriology laboratory of Hindu Rao Hospital for ZN staining procedure for tuberculosis from patients attending various clinics of Hindu Rao Hospital during 2016-2019 was done. Results: In our study, during the course of 4 years, 263 (2.66%) out of total 9855 samples were positive for acid fast bacilli by ZN staining method. Out of 263 cases, 201 (76.42%) were pulmonary tuberculosis and 62 (23.57%) cases were of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Conclusion: Like pulmonary tuberculosis, extrapulmonary tuberculosis is also a significant health problem in India and carries an important role in epidemiology of tuberculosis. Necessary and epidemiology based guided efforts should be made and directed towards early and prompt diagnosis of such cases with the help of more sensitive and specific newer diagnostic tests