EXTRAPULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS - EXPERIENCE IN A GENERAL-HOSPITAL (1980-1993)

In order to know extrapulmonary tuberculosis in our environment the results of all samples submitted for culture of mycobacteria to the Microbiology Department, Fundacion Jimenez Diaz, from 1980 to 1993 were analyzed. During this period 290 cases of extrapulmonary cases were diagnosed, 101 from 1980 to 1985 and 189 from 1986 to 1993. The most common site of infection before 1985 was in genitourinary tract (42.6%); in contrast, from 1986 onwards the more common sites of infection were pleural (22.8%), genitourinary tract and lymphatic glands (22.2% in both sites). When EPT was compared in the two periods of time the observations made were a relative decrease of genitourinary infections (p=0.00004) and increase in disseminated (p=0.015) and pleural tuberculosis (p=0.011) from 1986 compared with previous years. From 1986 a greater proportion of disseminated form was observed (p<0.0001) in positive-HIV patients and of genitourinary (p=0.011) and pleural (p=0.076) forms in negative HIV-patients. In conclusion, extrapulmonary tuberculosis has increased in our environment during the period 1980-1993, and this increase is not attributable only to positive-HIV patients. The distribution of clinical forms of this disease was different in the two studied periods and among positive and negative HIV patients.