Tuberculosis-related deaths without treatment

Of 536 culture-positive tuberculosis (TB) patients notified in 2003 in Taipei, 507 (94.6%) received anti-tuberculosis treatment in reporting health facilities and 29 (5.4%) did not. Of these 29 patients, 26 (89.7%) died, 2 (6.9%) were re-notified 1 year later and 1 (3.5%) was lost to follow-up. In multivariate analysis, patients aged ≥65 years, patients with negative smear or smear not done, patients with sepsis and/or respiratory failure and patients with liver diseases were significantly less likely to receive anti-tuberculosis treatment. Overall, of the 536 TB patients, 97 (18.1%) died, of whom 26 (26.8%) died without anti-tuberculosis treatment.