Worldwide, tuberculosis (TB) incidence increased from 125 cases per 100,000 population in 1990 to 142 cases per 100,000 population in 2004, primarily because of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic. Persons with HIV are at increased risk for TB disease, and those with TB have a high risk for death. This is documented most clearly in resource-limited settings, where limited access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and other health-care services contribute to the elevated mortality. The impact of HIV on patients with TB is less clear in resource-rich nations such as the United States. To understand the impact of HIV on the risk for death during TB treatment in the United States, data were analyzed for all culture-positive patients with TB from 1993 to 2008, and the proportion that died was determined and stratified by HIV test result. Mortality data were restricted to patients reported before 2007. The proportion of all patients with TB who died during TB treatment decreased from 2,445 of 13,629 (18%) in 1993 to 682 of 7,578 (9%) in 2006. Among patients with TB and HIV, 950 of 2,337 (41%) died during treatment in 1993; this proportion declined to 131 of 663 (20%) in 2006. The proportion of patients with TB and HIV who received their TB diagnosis postmortem dropped from 191 of 2,927 (7%) in 1993 to 32 of 768 (4%) in 2006; 624 of 10,468 (6%) persons with TB and unknown HIV status received their TB diagnosis postmortem in 1993, and this proportion did not decline. Further reductions in mortality can be achieved by enhanced TB/HIV program collaboration and service integration.
Mortality among patients with tuberculosis and associations with HIV status --- United States, 1993-2008.