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Marijuana ‘bong’ smoking and tuberculosis
Author(s) -
Thu K.,
Hayes M.,
Miles S.,
Tierney L.,
Foy A.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
internal medicine journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 1444-0903
DOI - 10.1111/imj.12089
Subject(s) - medicine , odds ratio , tuberculosis , incidence (geometry) , confidence interval , risk factor , demography , cannabis , transmission (telecommunications) , population , indigenous , environmental health , psychiatry , pathology , ecology , physics , electrical engineering , sociology , optics , biology , engineering
The incidence of tuberculosis in the non‐indigenous A ustralian population is low. However, in this paper we report on three cases of cavitating disease, which seem to be associated with a common illicit drug habit namely smoking marijuana using a makeshift pipe or bong. There was a total of 34 positive contacts of these cases and among the contacts sharing a bong with an index case was associated with a sixfold risk of transmission (odds ratio 6.5, confidence interval 1.4–30.4, P = 0.016). When cavitating tuberculosis is detected in a young non‐indigenous native born Australian, marijuana use should be considered as a possible risk factor.