Frequency of various presentations of tuberculosis in Peshawar

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis is classified as pulmonary or extra-pulmonary. This study was conducted to determine the frequency of different presentations of tuberculosis in a tertiary care hospital.

Material & Methods: This descriptive study was conducted at T.B centre, Hayatabad Medical Complex, from January 2005 to June 2010, on 323 patients with tuberculosis. Patients were evaluated with a detailed history and clinical examination, before subjecting them to investigations as chest x-ray, sputum smear examination and tissue biopsy.

Results: Out of 323 patients, 196(60.68%) had pulmonary tuberculosis, of which 153(70.06%) were sputum smear positive and 43(28.10%) negative. One hundred & twenty-seven (39.31%) had extra-pulmonary tuberculosis out of which 62(48.81%) had pleural, 51(40.15%) had lymph node involvement, 6(4.72%) had cariesspine, 6(4.72%) had abdominal, and 2(1.57%) had bone involvement.

Conclusion: Majority of the patients with tuberculosis present with pulmonary disease. Majority of patients with extra-pulmonary TB has pleural involvement.