Factors associated with the clinical profile and outcome of SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) patients co-infected with tuberculosis in a tertiary hospital: a retrospective study

<b>Introduction:</b> Tuberculosis is still a significant health problem in the Philippines, which causes high morbidity and mortality. With the emergence of COVID-19 infection during January 2020 becoming a pandemic then overtaking TB as number one infectious disease worldwide. The paucity of literature in the local setting had led the researcher to conduct a well-detailed review of COVID-19 cases co-infected with TB, its clinical profile, and the outcome of patients admitted in a tertiary hospital. <b>Objective:</b> This study aimed to identify factors associated with mortality among COVID-19 patients coinfected with TB admitted at a tertiary hospital in a six-month period. <b>Methodology:</b> This is a six-month descriptive, cross-sectional retrospective study of COVID-19 adult patients co-infected with TB from March to September 2020. <b>Results:</b> Thirty-five patients with concurrent COVID-19 and TB infections were included. Twenty (43%) of these patients died while fifteen (57%) of&nbsp;them survived.&nbsp;One of the factors that showed significant association on mortality was&nbsp;having a positive diagnosis for direct sputum smear microbiology. Among the mortalities, thirteen (65%) were sputum smear-positive and four (25%) were HIV-positive. <b>Conclusion:</b> Having a positive sputum AFB smear is associated with higher mortality among patients with COVID-19 co-infected with TB. By itself, TB co-infection is not associated with worse outcomes or with longer hospital stay, greater disease severity,&nbsp;or increased mortality. The study had a small sample size. A larger study is recommended to better characterize the effect of TB co-infection&nbsp;with COVID-19 outcomes.