Review
Extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Experience of a community hospital and review of the literature

https://doi.org/10.1016/0002-9343(85)90034-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis accounted for 37 percent of all new cases of active tuberculous infection identified at a 522-bed community hospital during an 11-year period. Forty-five foci of extrapulmonary infection were diagnosed in 38 patients. Involvement of the genitourinary system, lymphatic system, and respiratory system, other than the lung, was most common and accounted for 58 percent of all infections. Presenting symptoms were protean and often resulted in long delays between onset of symptoms and eventual diagnosis. Foreign birthplace, prior history of or exposure to tuberculosis, constitutional symptoms, febrile course, and anemia were important findings suggesting the diagnosis. Results of tuberculin skin tests were positive in 31 of 34 patients. Chest radiography demonstrated abnormalities in 25 of 38 patients. Cultures showed growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 27 of 39 affected sites, and caseating granulomas were identified in 31 instances. It is concluded that extrapulmonary tuberculosis remains an important infectious disease problem despite the overall decrease in the national incidence of tuberculosis.

References (87)

  • S Berney et al.

    Clinical and diagnostic features of tuberculous arthritis

    Am J Med

    (1972)
  • P Sen et al.

    The diagnostic enigma of extrapulmonary tuberculosis

    J Chronic Dis

    (1977)
  • WR Burack et al.

    Tuberculous peritonitis

  • JHN Wolfe et al.

    Tuberculous peritonitis and role of diagnostic laparoscopy

    Lancet

    (1979)
  • S Hyman et al.

    The enigma of tuberculous peritonitis

    Gastroenterology

    (1962)
  • WS Stead et al.

    The clinical spectrum of primary tuberculosis in adults

  • LS Farer et al.

    Extrapulmonary tuberculosis in the United States

    Am J Epidemiol

    (1979)
  • Medical Records Data 1979. Waterbury Hospital Health Center, Waterbury,...
  • Medical Records Data 1980. Waterbury Hospital Health Center, Waterbury,...
  • DA Enarson et al.

    Non-respiratory tuberculosis in Canada

  • AR Rich

    The pathogenesis of tuberculosis

  • JA Myers

    The natural history of tuberculosis in the human body

    JAMA

    (1965)
  • A Baydur

    The spectrum of extrapulmonary tuberculosis

    West J Med

    (1977)
  • DE Snider

    Extrapulmonary tuberculosis in Oklahoma, 1965 to 1973

    Am Rev Respir Dis

    (1975)
  • F Linell et al.

    Tuberculosis in autopsy material

    Scand J Respir Dis

    (1966)
  • PN Munt

    Miliary tuberculosis in the chemotherapy era: with a clinical review in 69 American adults

    Medicine (Baltimore)

    (1972)
  • AT Proudfoot et al.

    Miliary tuberculosis in adults

    Br Med J

    (1969)
  • MH Grieco et al.

    Acute disseminated tuberculosis as a diagnostic problem

  • DC Kent et al.

    Active pulmonary tuberculosis with negative tuberculin skin reactions

    Am Rev Respir Dis

    (1967)
  • RM Glasser et al.

    The significance of hematologic abnormalities in patients with tuberculosis

    Arch Intern Med

    (1970)
  • RJ Shalhoub et al.

    The mechanism of hyponatremia in pulmonary tuberculosis

    Am J Med

    (1969)
  • H Vorherr et al.

    Antidiuretic principle in tuberculous lung tissue of a patient with pulmonary tuberculosis and hyponatremia

    Ann Intern Med

    (1970)
  • WI Christensen

    Genitourinary tuberculosis: review of 102 cases

    Medicine (Baltimore)

    (1974)
  • RR Bentz et al.

    The incidence of urine cultures positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a general tuberculosis patient population

    Am Rev Respir Dis

    (1975)
  • S Dhand et al.

    Intrathoracic tuberculous lymphadenopathy in adults

    JAMA

    (1979)
  • A Khan et al.

    Clinical and roentgenographic spectrum of pulmonary tuberculosis in the adult

    Am J Med

    (1977)
  • HA Lyons et al.

    The diagnosis and classification of mediastinal masses: a study of 782 cases

    Ann Intern Med

    (1959)
  • DC Kent et al.

    Hilar adenopathy and tuberculosis

    Am Rev Respir Dis

    (1967)
  • RW Cantrell et al.

    Diagnosis and management of tuberculous cervical adenitis

    Arch Otolaryngol

    (1975)
  • DC Kent

    Tuberculous lymphadenitis: not a localized disease process

    Am J Med Sci

    (1967)
  • WW Stead et al.

    Operative and pathologic findings in 24 patients with the syndrome of idiopathic pleurisy with effusion presumedly tuberculosis

    Am Rev Tuber Pul Dis

    (1955)
  • A Falk

    Tuberculous pleurisy with effusion: diagnosis and results of chemotherapy

    Postgrad Med

    (1965)
  • Cited by (166)

    • Tuberculosis ‘The Great Imitator’: A usual disease with unusual presentations

      2017, Indian Journal of Tuberculosis
      Citation Excerpt :

      Differential diagnosis in this clinical setting includes conditions like Wegener's granulomatosis, carcinoma, leprosy, sarcoidosis, subcutaneous phycomycosis, rhinoscleroma, rhinosporidium seebri, rhinitis sicca, etc.21 Acid fast bacilli are at times not easily demonstrated in surgical specimens and Beltram et al. have suggested that the diagnosis of sino-nasal tuberculosis should be based upon (a) the absence of clinical response to empirical antibiotics and (b) the presence of caseous granulomatous inflammatory lesions on histopathology, and (c) identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the surgical specimen.22 Musculoskeletal tuberculosis is a rare form of EPTB and has been reported to constitute 1–5% of all cases of tuberculosis.23 Tuberculosis of soft tissue and muscle without underlying bony pathology is rare and there are very few reports in English literature of primary muscular tuberculosis without bony involvement or in immunocompetent patients.24

    • Tubercular osteomyelitis of the maxillae: A case report and review

      2015, Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Medicine, and Pathology
    • Otolaryngological Manifestations of Tuberculosis: A Clinical Study

      2022, Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery
    • Tongue Lesions: Diagnostic Challenges and Therapeutic Strategies

      2022, Tongue Lesions: Diagnostic Challenges and Therapeutic Strategies
    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text