Is the Beijing strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis associated with cavitary lung disease?

We conducted a cross-sectional study to describe clinical characteristics of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis with and without evidence of pulmonary cavitation on chest radiography and assess whether cavitation is associated with infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing strain. Cases were selected from the Tuberculosis Registry (January 1, 2008-November 1, 2011) of the Florida Department of Health (FDOH). Molecular characterization was performed by spoligotyping and MIRU-VNTR. We analyzed 975 cases, where 144 (14.8%) were infected with the Beijing strain. Cavitation was not associated with disease caused by the Beijing strain. Alcohol use (OR = 1.7; 95%CI: 1.249-2.313) was associated with increased risk of cavitation in the unadjusted analyses. Multivariable analyses showed that older age (⩾ 65 years) (OR = 0.5; 95%CI: 0.233-0.871), Hispanic ethnicity (OR = 0.6; 95%CI: 0.312-0.962), and co-infection with HIV (OR = 0.1; 95%CI: 0.068-0.295) demonstrated protective effects to cavitation. Understanding the factors associated with cavitation among pulmonary cases is essential toward improved tuberculosis management and control.