Background: Tuberculosis is an infectious disease and cause of ill-health among millions of people each year. The antigens of the ABO blood group system (A, B, and H determinants, respectively) are complex carbohydrate molecules on the extracellular surface of red blood cell membranes. Several studies conducted have shown significant association between ABO blood groups of people and pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB).
Objective: To determine an association between ABO blood grouping and rhesus (Rh) typing in patients with PTB (both sputum positive and negative) and extrapulmonary tuberculosis.
Materials and Methods: A prospective hospital-based study was conducted among patients attending OPD of Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Rohilkhand Medical College and Hospital, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India. The ABO grouping and Rh typing were done among 300 patients with tuberculosis and 1,200 healthy controls using the standard slide agglutination reaction. The patients had clinical, radiological, microbiological, and biochemical evidence of tuberculosis.
Result: Among controls, the majority of patients were of B positive group, followed by O positive. However, in the test group, the majority of patients were of B positive group followed by A positive and then O positive. However, no significant association was observed between tuberculosis and ABO-Rh.
Conclusion: Though stated by various authors in studies from different parts of the India, the association between chronic diseases like tuberculosis with ABO-Rh varies in different region of India. In this study, no significant (p > 0.05) association was observed between ABO-Rh and tuberculosis.
Key words: ABO blood grouping, rhesus typing, tuberculosis
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