BMC Research Notes (Apr 2020)
Functional adrenal insufficiency among tuberculosis-human immunodeficiency virus co-infected patients: a cross-sectional study in Uganda
Abstract
Abstract Objective Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of adrenal insufficiency in resource-limited settings. The adrenal gland is the most commonly affected endocrine organ in TB infection. We assessed factors associated with functional adrenal insufficiency (FAI) among TB-HIV patients with and without drug-resistance in Uganda. Patients with drug-sensitive and drug-resistant TB were enrolled and examined for clinical signs and symptoms of FAI with an early morning serum cortisol level obtained. FAI was defined as early morning serum cortisol 1 month (aOR 2.86; 95% CI 1.4–5.5; p = 0.002) and abdominal pain (aOR 2.06; 95% CI 1.04–4.09; p = 0.038) were significantly associated with FAI. Early morning serum cortisol levels should be quantified in TB-HIV co-infected patients with drug-resistant TB.
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