Spectrum of urogenital tuberculosis

Urogenital tuberculosis (UGTB) plays an important role because its complications may be fatal, it significantly reduces quality of life, and it is often associated with AIDS. Diagnosis of UGTB is often delayed. We analyzed 131 case histories of UGTB patients from the years 2009-2011. Gender, age, and the clinical form and main features of the disease were taken into account. The most common form was kidney tuberculosis (74.8%). Isolated kidney tuberculosis (KTB) more often occurs in women: 56.8%. Patients of middle and old age more often showed the stage of cavernous KTB; younger patients had smaller forms. Among all cases, an asymptomatic course was seen in 12.2% and, among cases of KTB, in 15.9%. Every third patient complained of flank pain and dysuria (35.2% and 39.8%, respectively); 17% presented with toxicity symptoms, 9.1% with renal colic, and 7.9% with gross hematuria. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in urine was found in 31.8% of cases in all levels of isolated KTB. UGTB has no specific symptom; even sterile pyuria occurs only in 25%. The acute onset of tuberculous orchiepididymitis was seen in 35.7% of patients, hemospermia in 7.1%, and dysuria in 35.7%. The most common complaints for prostate tuberculosis were perineal pain (31.6%), dysuria (also 31.6%), and hemospermia (26.3%). MTB in prostate secretion/ejaculate was revealed in 10.5% of this group. All urogenital tract infections should be suspected as UGTB in patients who are living in a region with a high incidence rate, who have had contact with tuberculosis infection, and who have a recurrence of the disease that is resistant to standard therapy.