Tuberculosis co-infection and its associated factors among People living with HIV/AIDS attending antiretroviral therapy clinic in southern Ethiopia: a facility based retrospective study

Objective The study aimed to determine the prevalence and identify determinants of TB among People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) through reviewing and analyzing patient case files from the anti-retro viral treatment (ART) clinic of Yirgalem General Hospital, southern Ethiopia. Results Of the total PLWHAs involved in the study, 51 (36.9%) of them were found to have TB, and of which, 37 (72.5%) were smear negative cases. The multivariate analysis showed that PLWHA's who are at WHO clinical stage 3 (AOR = 5.82; 95% CI 1.04-32.30), CD4 level of 200-500 cells/mm 3 (AOR = 4.85; 95% CI 1.95-12.05) and 3 (AOR = 7.34; 95% CI 2.75-19.58) at ART initiation, and who didn't take INH prophylaxis (AOR = 12.36; 95% CI 4.47-34.14) were significantly associated with TB-HIV co-infection. Rapid and sensitive diagnostic techniques should be implemented to early detect co-infections, and also INH prophylactic preventive measures should be strengthened to reduce TB incidence.