Demographic and microbiological characteristics of tuberculous lymphadenitis and other extrapulmonary tuberculosis cases

Abstract

Objective: Tuberculosis (TB) is a significant public health problem that remains important worldwide. This study aimed to examine the demographic characteristics and clinical features of patients with extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) and also identify the comorbidities of EPTB. Our secondary aim was to compare tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBL) with other forms of EPTB.

Patients and Methods: This single-center, retrospective, observational study was conducted on patients diagnosed with EPTB in a training hospital in Turkey between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2020. The demographic characteristics and clinical features of the patients were examined. TBL cases were compared with other forms of EPTB cases.

Results: The most common clinical form was TBL. Fever, night sweats, and accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation rate were significantly more common in the other forms of the EPTB group compared to TBL. The rate of tuberculin skin test positivity was significantly higher in patients with TBL. The complication rate was 3%, and mortality rate was 4% among all patients.

Conclusions: Extrapulmonary tuberculosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis by evaluating the medical history of patients who present with organ-specific symptoms, especially in TB endemic countries. The clinic may differ according to the organ involvement. TBL may be seen with milder symptoms compared to other clinical forms.