Tuberculosis (TB) continues as one of the main challenges for public health and primary health care. Objective: to analyze hospitalizations for pulmonary TB that occurred in the State of São Paulo in 2004. Methodology: data were collected related to: number of hospitalizations for pulmonary tuberculosis according to gender and age range; average hospitalization time; deaths during hospitalizations and hospitalization costs for the Unified Health System (SUS), using DATASUS, the SUS database. Results: in 2004, 4,859 hospitalizations for pulmonary tuberculosis occurred in the State of São Paulo. Hospitalizations were more frequent among men, with 4079 (84%) cases; average hospitalization time was 26.2 days; 202 (4.53%) patients died, 155 of whom were men; higher costs were found for patients under 14. Conclusion: Early diagnosis is essential in the identification of TB, with a view to reducing the number of TB hospitalizations, however there is a need for a primary health care service that is capable of accomplishing these actions.
Tuberculosis; Health planning; Directly observed therapy
