Pulmonary tuberculosis in Saudi Arabia: A retrospective study of 1566 patients.

A review was conducted of 1566 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis admitted to Sahary Chest Hospital in Riyadh between July 1983 and August 1987. The medical records, chest rafiographs, and sputum results were studied. The 21 to 30 year age group represented 40.7% of all patients, which indicates the need for improving measures for the control of tuberculosis in young adults, whose protection may have waned despite BCG vaccination in infancy. Non-Saudi males patients constituted more than half of the admission which raises the question of the efficacy of the current pulmonary tuberculosis screening policy for individuals entering the Kingdom. The four-drug regimen of rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol, when properly supervised, was very effective in achieving early sputum conversion. Based on results of this study, decentralizing tuberculosis services and attaching them to other local and general hospitals appears to be recommended.