Assessment and Comparison of Serum Electrolyte Level among Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients with and without HIV Co-infection at Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Tigray, North Ethiopia, 2023/2024

Abstract

According to a World Health Organization report from 2021, tuberculosis is a primary cause of morbidity and one of the top causes of mortality globally. It has been discovered that electrolyte and fluid imbalances, which are common in tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, have a significant role in morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to assess and compare serum electrolyte level among pulmonary tuberculosis patients with or without HIV co-infection at Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Tigray, North Ethiopia. A comparative cross-sectional study utilizing a convenience sampling technique was used to sample 50 pulmonary tuberculosis patients with or without HIV co-infection at Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital in the period from October 2023 to December 2024. HIV-PTB co-infected patients and PTB without HIV co-infection who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected using an interviewer administered structured questionnaire and medical record review. K-Light electrolyte analyser automachine analyser was used to determine the serum electrolyte status of pulmonary tuberculosis patients with or without HIV co-infection directly by taking 3 milliliters of venous blood. After checking for completeness and cleaning, the data were entered into Epi-data version 4.5 and exported into the SPSS software version 25 package for analysis, and the different variables were analyzed. Linear Regression was used to assess the relationship of anti-TB and ART Rx duration with serum electrolyte level. This study found that serum sodium levels were significantly higher in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients compared to those co-infected with HIV (132.65±4.15 vs. 130.28±4.09 mEq/L; p = 0.047). Conversely, serum potassium levels were significantly elevated in HIV-PTB coinfected patients (5.05±0.75 vs. 3.83±0.59 mEq/L; p = 0.000), and serum chloride levels were higher in PTB patients without HIV co-infection (103.42±3.16 vs. 100.61±5.10 mEq/L; p = 0.023). The study highlights the significantly higher level of serum sodium in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients without HIV co-infection compared to those co-infected with HIV. This study also showed a significantly higher level of serum potassium in HIV-PTB co-infected patients and significantly higher chloride level in PTB patients without HIV co-infection.