Our results are consistent with previous epidemiological data. Other studies have shown mortality rates up to approximately 80% in TB patients with ARF requiring MV [3] [4] [5] [6] 12] . In accordance with our findings, another study demonstrated an ICU mortality rate of 61% and an in-hospital mortality rate of 65.9% [5] . Early ICU admission was independently associated with higher mortality in multivariate analysis. This finding is consistent with a previous study [13] , and may be due to the Data are presented as mean ± SD, n (%), or median (interquartile range). WBC: white blood cell. ARDS: acute respiratory distress syndrome. more severe disease in these patients. Actually, this appears to be a plausible explanation as they have a higher incidence of acute renal failure compared to patients with a late ICU admission. Delayed treatment was also more frequent in this group, which confirms earlier observations [13, 14] . Another factor that contributes to the failure to initiate treatment within 24 hours after admission is the less classic presentation. Indeed, atypical features as sputum-smear negativity have been suggested to be associated with delays in both diagnosis and treatment and with mortality [13, 15, 16] . Our study showed that sputum smear-positivity and a miliary radiographic pattern were associated with a reduced risk of death. Surprisingly, we found in univariate and multivariate analysis that VAP was a further protective factor for mortality, in contrast with prior reports [4, 17] .