Raw Data Characteristics and Outcomes of Clinically Diagnosed TB Patients

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant public health challenge in the Philippines despite advancements in diagnostic tests such as GeneXpert. Managing patients who test negative but receive empirical treatment poses additional challenges, underscoring the urgent need for improved TB management.

Among 2,622 patients admitted with TB, 45.2% (n=1,187) were clinically diagnosed. Of these, 69.6% (n=826) tested negative, while 30.4% (n=361) lacked test results due to specimen collection challenges or lack of testing. The majority of patients were male (69.8%, n=829), with a mean age of 47.22 years (SD 17.13), and hypertensive (90.9%, n=845). Dyspnea was the most common symptom, reported by 64.7% (n=768) of patients. Pulmonary TB was diagnosed in 89.5% (n=1,062) of cases, while 10.5% (n=125) were extrapulmonary. Improvement was observed in 54.9% (n=652) of patients who were discharged with ongoing treatment, while 28.9% (n=343) succumbed to all-cause mortality.