STUDIES ON TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS STAYING LONG PERIODS IN HOSPITALS AND SANATORIA. PART 2

Abstract

The Research Committee for Tuberculosis, Ryoken, conducted the cooperative study on the background factors of pulmonary tuberculosis patients staying long periods in 73 hospitals and sanatoria belonged to the committee in 1975.
The survey was performed on October 15, 1975.
In part 2, the reasons of long-stay in hospitals and sanatoria were analysed in 1, 936 cases staying for more than 5 years.
The results were summarized as follows:
1) Among 1, 936 patients, 664 (34.3%) had to stay due to failure of sputum negative conversion of tubercle bacilli. The commonest reason of treatment failure was that the patients were discovered in the days when anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy was not well advanced. The next common reasons were the late discovery of the disease or extremely far advanced tuberculosis at discovery.
2) The remaining 1, 272 patients were negative for tubercle bacilli. The reasons of long stay of negative cases were analysed, and the main reasons of long stay were the respiratory insufficiency (35.6%), the psychological worry for the disease (18.6%) and no acceptability of patients to their home (12.7%).
3) The majority of cases of long stay due to respiratory insufficiency showed the lower percent vital capacity and marked or moderate dyspnea. The proportion of patients of long stay due to respiratory insufficiency showed the close relation with the extent of pulmonary lesions, surgical treatment and respiratory complications.
4) As to the respiratory complications, emphysema was most frequently (15%) seen in all cases, and the empyema was most frequently seen in cases of long stay due to respiratory insufficiency.
Conclusively, to avoid the long-term admission of tuberculosis patients the earlier discovery of the disease and the initial intensive chemotherapy are essential.