SPECTRUM OF FUNGAL ETIOLOGIES IN SPUTUM SAMPLES FROM PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS SUSPECTED PATIENTS

Background: pulmonary mycosis is a systemic fungal infection that occurs when fungi cause’s diseases of the lungs. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), the causative agent of pulmonary tuberculosis is one of the major micro organisms that infect this site. Clinical and radiological characteristics of pulmonary mycosis are very similar to that of pulmonary tuberculosis thereby making the disease easily misdiagnosed and mistreated as tuberculosis. Objective: To assess spectrum of fungal etiologies in sputum samples from pulmonary tuberculosis suspected patients at Kotebe primary hospital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted at Kotebe primary hospital on 423 sputum samples from presumptive TB patients. Sputum samples were collected aseptically and Presence of pulmonary Tuberculosis was screened by Xpert MTB-Rif/assay. Microscopically fungal elements were screened using 10%KOH. Cultural identification of the different pathogenic fungi was performed using SDA and BHI medium incubated at 25c0 and 37c0 for 4- 6weeks respectively for each sputum samples. Identification was performed by noting; the growth form, and rate of growth, surface and reversed coloration on SDA and BHI agar plates. Yeasts were identified by conventional biochemical tests and assimilation characteristics. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS version 23 software.