Author(s): Suvarna S Khadilkar, Usha Saraiya.

Fifteen percent of women had reactivation of tuberculosis. Pulmonary tuberculosis was by far the most common in both the phases. Cough and low grade fever were commonest symptoms. Severity of the disease reduced over the years and was found mainly in positiveness patients in phase II. Pregnancy outcome was not adversely affected except for a very high incidence of low birth weight babies. There were two maternal moralities in phase I and one mortality in phase II. The incidence of TB has remained steady in spite of improved treatment strategies. Perinatal mortality decreased with time but the incidence of low birth weight babies remained quite high. The differences in the observations in phase I and II were not significant by Z test. Since high index of suspicion helps early diagnosis and treatment there is a strong need for health education, antenatal counseling and combined TB and AIDS awarness campaign.

Author(s): SUVARNA S. KHADILKAR, J. A. LOPEZ, C. N. PURANDARE AND K. K. DESHMUKH