Assessment of electrolyte imbalance among patients newly diagnosed with Mycobacterium tuberculosis disease

Abstract

Tuberculosis is an ancient infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It’s the world’s most deadly disease because a third of the infected individuals become clinically sick. It’s therefore, the major cause of morbidity and disability especially in the sub-Saharan part of Africa. Tuberculosis prevails with clinical signs of vomiting, having excessive night sweats, among others leading to fluid loss including the serum electrolytes from the body. This leads to electrolyte imbalance Despite their critical role of maintaining the physiological homeostasis, serum electrolyte levels have been commonly underlooked in patients infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A cross-sectional study design was done to assess these electrolyte imbalances from 94 participants with TB. Participants’ samples were collected and taken to the laboratory for analysis and results were later analyzed using STATA Version 14.2. Of the 94 participants, 28 were young persons aged 1 to 18 years (29.8%) and 66 were adults above 18 years (70.2%). There were 65 male persons (69.1%) and 29 females (30.9%) and of these 35 (37.2%) were married, 41(43.6%) were single, 14 (14.9%) had divorced and the remaining 4 (4.3%) were widowed. Additionally, 46 (48.9%) received night sweats and 90 (95.7%) could often cough. Also of these 34 (36.2%) were positive for HIV. The study revealed 23.40% for serum sodium 23.47% for serum potassium and then 27.66% for serum calcium. No demographic factors was found to be associated with any of the electrolyte imbalances. Regular screening for serum electrolytes in TB patients should be encouraged is essential and early diagnosis and prompt management of these abnormalities are critical. Correction of theses abnormalities could improve the outcome of patient. There is need to assess the electrolyte levels especially sodium, potassium and calcium among patients infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis on a regular basis to inform treatment. Further studies should be done using large numbers to better understand the risk factors for electrolyte imbalances.