A new understanding of clinical patterns in post-TB lung disease

Abstract

<sec id="st1"><title>BACKGROUND</title>Post-TB lung disease (PTLD) can be categorised based on physiological, radiological, and clinical abnormalities, delineating distinct clinical patterns; however, thus far the importance of this is unknown. People with PTLD have a high morbidity and increased mortality, but predictors of long-term outcomes are poorly understood.</sec><sec id="st2"><title>METHODS</title>We conducted an observational study of PTLD patients attending a tertiary hospital in South Africa between 1 October 2021 and 30 September 2022. Patient demographics, risk factors, symptoms, lung function tests and outcomes were captured.</sec><sec id="st3"><title>RESULTS</title>A total of 185 patients were included (mean age: 45.2 years, SD ±14.3). Half of patients reported only one previous episode of