İnvestıgatıon of Latent tuberculosıs wıth Quantiferon gold test in Diabetic Patıents

Tuberculosis (TB) has always been an important place within infectious diseases throughout human history and the number of new TB cases has increased rapidly in recent years. Latent tuberculosis (LTB) has an important role in this increase. The most important risk in individuals with LTB is the development of active TB infection at one period in their lives. The risk of progression to TB disease varies depends on the risk factors of the host. This risk is 5-10% in the normal population and active disease and development risk is at the maximal level within the first 2 years after the acquisition of infection. Therefore, one of the most important steps in TB control strategies in developed countries is the identification and treatment of infected individuals. This makes accurate diagnosis and treatment of individuals with LTB infection important. The most important reason that increases the risk of disease after infection is the immunosuppression of the individual. Diabetes Mellitus (DM) disease is one of the major diseases that are common in the society and suppress the immune system. For this reason, in the study, it was aimed to determine the prevalence of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis in patients with diabetes by Quantiferon-TB Gold method. In the study, three groups were compared among themselves, including Type 1 and Type 2 DM patients who were diagnosed or treated in the endocrinology outpatient clinic and control group randomly selected from the community. Blood samples of a total of 75 individuals, 25 of whom were from each group were studied. As a result of this study, 21 (28%) of 75 patients were found to be positive, including 5 (20%) in Type 1 DM patients, 10 (40%) in Type 2 DM group and 6 (24%) in control group. No statistically significant difference was found between the groups. As for gender, however it was seen in men more, no significant difference was found. No statistically significant difference was found between age groups. In conclusion, the presence of LTB infection especially in immunosuppresive patients is likely to be a risk for infection, and therefore it is necessary to investigate latent tuberculosis in diabetic patients. Keywords: Diabetes, Latent Tuberculosis, Qantiferon TB-Gold Test