Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis: Retrospective Study in a Secondary Care Hospital in Makkah City, Saudi Arabia

• Published in: Infectious diseases in clinical practice (Baltimore, Md.) Vol. 19; no. 2; pp. 111 - 115
• Main Authors: Wani, Abdul Majid, Hussain, Waleed Mohd, Khoujah, Amer M, AlMiamini, Wail H, Hamdi, Jamal T, Banjar, Hakim Amroon, Mohd, Binhussain I, Alharbi, Zeyad S, Akhtar, Mubeena, Khoujah, Ammar, Hamdi, Khalid J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc 01-03-2011
• ISSN: 1056-9103; 1536-9943
• DOI: 10.1097/IPC.0b013e3182041e0a

BACKGROUND:Tuberculosis is still rampant and a global issue. Extent of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) depends upon the number of smear positive pulmonary TB in a community.
OBJECTIVE:We conducted this retrospective study to determine the clinical pattern and extent of EPTB in Makkah City, the site of pilgrimage for Muslims around the world.
METHODS:Records of all the cases of TB registered in our department of infection control for the last 6 years were reviewed, data of the total number of patients with TB were analyzed, and the number of EPTB was grouped as per site of involvement, age, and sex. Cases were classified as extrapulmonary according to the definition of the World Health Organization.
RESULTS:A total of 324 cases were recorded with 139 cases of EPTB. Lymph node TB was the most common form of EPTB followed by pleural, skeletal, central nervous system, abdominal, genitourinary, and breast TB. Female to male ratio was almost 2:1, and the age group involved was the most productive group of 20 to 40 years, which was similar to pulmonary TB. There was a yearly change in the number of cases with steep rise in the previous year.
CONCLUSIONS:Extrapulmonary TB was most common in females during their most productive years of life. Lymph node, skeletal, central nervous system, and pleural TB were the most common forms of EPTB with the need for prolonged therapy, more defaulter rate, more relapses, decreased cure rate, more disability, and a progressive increase in the number of cases indicating an immediate need for directly observed short course therapy, health education, and proper allocation of resources.