Increasing incidence of HIV- associated tuberculosis in Romanian injecting drug users

Background A high prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) among HIV-positive injecting drug users (IDUs) may fuel the TB epidemic in the general population of Romania. We determined the frequency and characteristics of TB in HIV-infected IDUs referred to a national centre. Methods Prospective observational cohort study of all newly-diagnosed HIV-positive IDUs admitted to Victor Babes Hospital, Bucharest, between January 2009 and December 2014. Socio-demographics, clinical characteristics and outcomes of HIV/TB co-infected IDUs were compared to HIV-positive IDUs without TB. Results 170/598 (28.5%) HIV-infected IDUs were diagnosed with TB. The prevalence increased from 12.5% in 2009 to 32.1% in 2014 (P 3 , P 10 (vs. 4.9 log 10 , P Conclusions Tuberculosis (TB) is an increasing problem in HIV-infected IDUs in Romania. Presentation is often with advanced HIV, significant TB drug resistance and consequent outcomes are poor.