Challenge of tuberculosis in renal transplantation

There is very high incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in dialysis and renal transplant (RT) recipients in developing countries. Clinical manifestation of TB may be atypical or obscure in initial stages. Common clinical abnormalities include pyrexia, pulmonary infiltrates, exudative pleural effusion, and exudative ascites. Aggressive investigations must be done in patients with pyrexia, pulmonary abnormalities, scanty sputum, and weight loss. BAL and computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest should be done in such cases. Tuberculin skin test is not helpful in the majority of patients. New blood tests to quantitate PPD reactivity in vivo and tests to distinguish between latent M tuberculosis infection from BCG-induced reactivity have been devised recently. Side effects of anti-TB drugs, especially hepatitis, need close observation because of the frequent occurrence of viral hepatitis in such cases. Tests to confirm latent TB are desirable before starting chemoprophylaxis in RT recipients. INH prophylaxis cannot be recommended universally in all RT recipients.