Overview of renal tuberculosis

The incidence of renal tuberculosis has decreased considerably in recent years, but the disease has not been eradicated completely. Sixty-six patients were treated for renal tuberculosis at St. Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland, from 1964 to 1974. Seventy-five per cent of these patients were under fifty years of age. Diagnosis can be made by Lowenstein-Jensen culture of early morning urine samples. The best drugs for treatment of renal tuberculosis are probably isoniazid, ethambutol, and rifamycin. All patients should be treated for eighteen months to two years and carefully followed since reactivation of the infection is not uncommon. Radical, extirpative surgery has a smaller part to play than chemotherapy in the treatment of renal tuberculosis.