epidemiologic and clinical aspects of tuberculosis in hamadan, iran, from 2002 to 2008

background: one-third of the world’s population is currently infected by tubercle bacillus. this study was performed to evaluate epidemiological and clinical aspects of confirmed cases of tuberculosis infections in a seven-year time period, between years of 2002 to 2008, in the city of hamadan, west of iran. materials and methods: in this descriptive retrospective study, medical records of 375 patients from the year of 2002 to 2008 were evaluated and analyzed. required data were obtained from medical records of all the patients and inserted into a detailed checklist. obtained data were analyzed by using spss statistical software (version 11.0).                                                                                                      results: the mean age of the patients was 53.69±20.37. most patients were female (58.7%). 78.1% of the cases were from urban areas. 58.7% of the patients were diagnosed by pulmonary tuberculosis. the mean age of the patients with extra-pulmonary tuberculosis was significantly younger than patients suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. 29.1% of males and 47% of females had extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. 72.2% of the patients with pulmonary tuberculosis had a positive-sputum smear. most patients with positive-smear for pulmonary tuberculosis were diagnosed (53%). sputum culture was the most frequent diagnostic technique used in patients with negative-sputum smear. in patients suffering from extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, lymph node involvement was the most frequent (34.2%). 44 patients (11.7%) were expired. conclusion: due to the increasing number of tuberculosis infections from 2005 to 2008, it is important for the health care providers and department of public health to monitor and pursue screening and prevention guidelines closely.