Number of tuberculosis cases on the rise at PIMS

Case detection rate of TB needs to be improved

Islamabad

The number of cases of tuberculosis being registered at Department of Pulmonology at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) is continuously on the rise as the hospital receives 20 to 30 suspected cases of the disease daily on average at the outpatient department.

Data collected by ‘The News’ has revealed that the PIMS department of pulmonolgy treated as many as 850 adult patients suffering from pulmonary or chest tuberculosis free of cost in 2015. Of 850, nearly 250 patients were suffering from multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) that is alarming.

Around 20 to 30 suspected patients of tuberculosis are reported daily at the pulmonolgy OPD who are treated according to signs, symptoms and examination. Apart from adult cases, as many as 200 child patients are getting treatment at the pulmonology department. These cases also include patients of MDR-TB, said Deputy Director at PIMS Dr. Waseem Ahmed Khawaja while talking to ‘The News’ on Sunday.

He said the drugs are provided free of cost to TB patients at PIMS through National Tuberculosis Control Programme. He added that most of the MDR-TB patients reported at PIMS were found to be those who did not take medicines regularly or the patients who took medicines from non-qualified persons, quacks or from general practitioners who gave them less dosage of the medicine required.

He said MDR patients are advised to take proper dose throughout the specific period of treatment. In case of resistant tuberculosis, the patient may need treatment for two years. Normally the treatment of tuberculosis is for six months while in resistant cases, injection therapy for seven months is also given and total treatment is done for two years, said Dr. Khawaja.

He said Vice Chancellor of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University PIMS Professor Javed Akram has said that every effort will be taken at PIMS for free investigations and treatment of all patients suffering from tuberculosis.

Focal person for child tuberculosis cases at PIMS Professor Dr Maqbool Hussain said the children suffering from lungs tuberculosis reaching PIMS are from Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Jhelum, Abbottabad, Fatehjang, Talagang, AJK and areas of KPK.

He said the PIMS provide all the investigations and treatment free of cost to tuberculosis patients with the help of National TB Programme.

Head of National TB Control Programme Dr Ejaz Qadeer, when contacted by ‘The News’ on Sunday, said the number of cases of extra pulmonary TB cases is greater at PIMS.

He said according to a survey conducted in 2011, around 500,000 cases of TB are reported from around the country however only 350,000 are detected while the rest get treatment from private healthcare facilities and remain undetected.

He said it is need of the time to improve TB case detection and treatment success rate in Pakistan and for that there is a need to create awareness among public that every suspect of the disease must report to public sector healthcare facility in the country so that he can be registered with the National TB Control Programme.