Extrapulmonary tuberculosis: 7 year-experience of a tertiary center in Istanbul

• Published in: European journal of internal medicine 2013-12, Vol.24 (8), p.864-867
• Main Authors: Sevgi, Dılek Yıldız, Derin, Okan, Alpay, Alı Seydı, Gündüz, Alper, Konuklar, Ahmet Sanlı, Bayraktar, Banu, Bulut, Emin, Uzun, Nuray, Sonmez, Emıne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cohort Studies; Female; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Middle Aged; Peritonitis, Tuberculous - epidemiology; Peritonitis, Tuberculous - mortality; Peritonitis, Tuberculous - pathology; Prevalence; Retrospective Studies; Tertiary Care Centers; Tuberculosis - epidemiology; Tuberculosis - mortality; Tuberculosis - pathology; Tuberculosis, Cutaneous - epidemiology; Tuberculosis, Cutaneous - mortality; Tuberculosis, Cutaneous - pathology; Tuberculosis, Gastrointestinal - epidemiology; Tuberculosis, Gastrointestinal - mortality; Tuberculosis, Gastrointestinal - pathology; Tuberculosis, Lymph Node - epidemiology; Tuberculosis, Lymph Node - mortality; Tuberculosis, Lymph Node - pathology; Tuberculosis, Meningeal - epidemiology; Tuberculosis, Meningeal - mortality; Tuberculosis, Meningeal - pathology; Tuberculosis, Miliary - epidemiology; Tuberculosis, Miliary - mortality; Tuberculosis, Miliary - pathology; Tuberculosis, Osteoarticular - epidemiology; Tuberculosis, Osteoarticular - mortality; Tuberculosis, Osteoarticular - pathology; Turkey - epidemiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0953-6205; 1879-0828
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejim.2013.08.704

Abstract Background Although a decreasing trend of tuberculosis (TB) was reported in Turkey, higher proportion of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPT) was revealed. Material and methods In this retrospective study, clinical and laboratory data of 141 EPT patients were evaluated for a seven-year period by using descriptive statistics, and parametric and non-parametric tests where appropriate. Results The most frequent types of EPT were meningeal TB (23%) and TB lymphadenitis (21%), respectively. Other types of EPT were skeletal, miliary, peritoneal, abscess, genitourinarial, cutaneous and gastrointestinal involvement which ranged between 18% and 1%. Mean age was 42 and female/male ratio was almost equal. All patients were born in Turkey. Although all of them were permanent residents of Istanbul, 73% of the patients came from East and Southeast Region of Turkey. For the patients, being older than 40 years old (p < 0.01), having miliary TB (p < 0.05) and high CRP levels (p < 0.05) were found to be associated with mortality. Conclusions EPT still remains as a significant morbidity and mortality reason in lower income populations and developing countries. In our study, although all patients were residents of Istanbul approximately two thirds of them have migrated from East and Southeast parts of the country. The relatively high prevelance of tuberculosis cases in Istanbul may be due to the permanent migration from other parts of the country. Early diagnosis and initiation of appropriate treatment are the keys for reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with EPT, particularly in the cases of older ages.