Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases the risk of tuberculosis disease.

BACKGROUND

As Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an aerobic microbe, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) could trigger progression from latent tuberculous infection (LTBI) to active tuberculosis (TB) disease.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of HBOT on TB reactivation.

DESIGN

Our study sample was from the National Health Insurance Research Database containing one million beneficiaries. We identified a group of patients who underwent HBOT, and matched this group with individuals without HBOT. We compared the incidence of activation of TB between these two groups.

RESULTS

A total of 2258 patients were identified, with each group comprising 1129 patients. One year after exposure to hyperbaric oxygen, the number of cases of active TB was significantly higher in the HBOT group than in the non-HBOT group (11 cases vs. 1 case, P = 0.006). Multiple regression analysis showed that HBOT was the only statistically significant contributor to TB activation.

CONCLUSION

HBOT is likely to trigger the reactivation of TB. High-risk patients should undergo the tuberculin skin test or interferon-gamma release assays before HBOT to identify patients with LTBI.