Extra-Pulmonary Presentation of Tuberculosis among Patients Managed for Tuberculosis at a Tertiary Hospital in South-West Nigeria: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the infectious diseases responsible for high morbidity and mortality across the world and more so in developing countries. According to WHO, one-third of the world's population is infected with the tubercle bacillus. A large proportion of patients with tuberculosis present with an extra-pulmonary disease which is often misdiagnosed or under-diagnosed. This study aimed to determine the burden of Extra-Pulmonary Tuberculosis (EPTB) and its associated factors in a Tertiary Hospital, South-West Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional, retrospective study involving all the TB cases seen between January 2015 and December 2019. Relevant information was retrieved from the clinical records of patients with the use of a well-structured proforma. Data obtained was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0, and the relationship between categorical variables was determined using chi-square. Five hundred and nine subjects were involved with a mean age of 39.8±16.99 years. Males accounted for 62.1% while 37.9% were females. Sixty-nine (13.6%) participants were HIV positive. Eighty-three (16.3%) had EPTB, of these 38.6% had spinal tuberculosis while 27.7% had pleural tuberculosis, other forms of EPTB accounted for 33.7%. Age, new cases of TB, and smear-negative TB were found to be significantly associated with the development of EPTB. Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis is in existence in the study area and is common in newly diagnosed TB patients. The commonest presentation is spinal tuberculosis.