Respiratory failure in pulmonary tuberculosis.

Of 852 patients admitted to Cook County Hospital with bacteriologically-proved pulmonary tuberculosis, 16 suffered respiratory failure. Of these 16, 5 died and 11 recovered. On follow-up, the survivors demonstrated significant improvement in oxygenation, but continued to show a severe restrictive ventilatory defect. Our patients, unlike those in previous reports, did not show airway obstruction. The principles of management are the same as for other pulmonary patients. Arterial blood gas analyses should be done on patients with advanced tuberculosis so that abnormalities of gas exchange will not be missed.