Disseminated Tuberculosis: A 6-year Case Series Experience in a Tertiary Care Center

Disseminated tuberculosis (dTB) disease is associated with a significant burden of morbidity and mortality and it requires improved awareness among clinicians. Case reports revealing the clinical and microbiological characteristics of dTB patients will help us to extend our knowledge of dTB. In our study, we have documented dTB cases followed for 6 years and revealed patients' clinical characteristics.

Patients followed between 2017 and 2023 who were diagnosed with dTB in a tertiary referral hospital in Istanbul have been evaluated. Data regarding patients' characteristics, methods used in establishing the definitive diagnosis, radiological patterns in chest X-rays, extrapulmonary sites involved, antituberculosis (TB) treatment regimens received, medication side effects, and drug resistance have been examined. Descriptive statistics were performed.

Clinical characteristics of 55 patients with a median age of 41 (range 20-85, 52.7% male) were examined. The most common extrapulmonary involvements in our study were the skeletal system (n = 24), central nervous system (n = 7), and genitourinary tract (n = 7). Isoniazid (INH) resistance was detected in four patients. Mono resistance was reported for pyrazinamide in one patient. Multidrug resistance was detected in two patients and one of them was also resistant to ethambutol. Preextensively, drug resistance was reported in three patients. Another three patients were evaluated as resistant to both INH and streptomycin.

Migrating from a high TB burden country and comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, human immunodeficiency virus, and rheumatoid arthritis that are related to immunocompromisation are thought to be risk factors for dTB.