The spectrum of tuberculosis in dialysis patients

Patients receiving dialysis therapy are known to be at increased risk of tuberculosis (TB). The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency, clinical characteristics and course of TB disease in dialysis patients treated at our institution. Medical records of 330 regular haemodialysis (n=219) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (n=111) patients (172 male, 158 female; mean age 55+/-16 y) who were cared for at our tertiary university hospital between December 2002 and January 2006 were retrospectively evaluated. Nine cases of TB (2.7%) occurred, in the following locations: vertebra (n=3), miliary (n=3), lymph nodes (n=1), peritoneum (n=2; one as peritionitis, 1 as an abscess). Four of these 9 patients died during the follow-up (mean time from diagnosis to death, 7 months); none of the deaths appeared to be caused by the disease itself. The incidence of TB disease in patients receiving renal replacement therapy is high, and occurs primarily in extrapulmonary sites.