New cases of active pulmonary tuberculosis admitted to our critical care unit from January 1999 to January 2006 were identified. Data were collected retrospectively from medical records including demographics, clinical presentation, number of sputum samples, therapy provided and patient outcome. Setting: Data were collected from the ICU database and microbiology laboratory records. Patients and participants: Thirty-three patients were diagnosed with active pulmonary tuberculosis. Age was 63±17, and were males. Onset of symptoms averaged 17 days prior to presentation (range: 1-90 days), including fever in 51%, cough in 14%, dyspnea in 8%, night sweats in 6%
