Specific Features of the Course and Treatment of Respiratory Tuberculosis in Women during Pregnancy and Postpartum Period. Perinatal Outcomes

The objective: to study specific features of the respiratory tuberculosis course and effectiveness of its treatment during pregnancy and postpartum period, and to evaluate the impact of tuberculosis on perinatal outcomes.Subjects and Methods. In 2010 - 2022, a retrospective-prospective case-control study enrolling 164 patients of reproductive age was conducted in Central Tuberculosis Research Institute. Two groups were formed: Case Group included 82 pregnant women with respiratory tuberculosis; Control Group included 82 non-pregnant patients with respiratory tuberculosis.Results. In both groups, new cases of respiratory tuberculosis were notified more often versus relapses. Distinctive features of respiratory tuberculosis in pregnant women versus the non-pregnant were as follows: the predominance of the proportion of extensive drug resistant M. tuberculosis – 55.5% versus 31.7% (p<0.05), respectively; lower frequency of lung tissue destruction – 18.3% versus 32.9% (p≤0.05); higher incidence of cavities - 80% and 40.7% (p≤0.05) and complications of respiratory tuberculosis – 25.6% versus 12.2% (p≤0.03), respectively. The high effectiveness of respiratory tuberculosis treatment such as relief of clinical symptoms and sputum conversion was achieved at the end of the intensive therapy phase both in Case Group and Control Group. Longer time until sputum conversion and lower rate of cavity healing were reported in the patients from Case Group. In 75.6% of pregnant women from Case Group there was a delivery with favorable perinatal outcomes.