Active tuberculosis unrecognised until necropsy

12 of the 24 cases of active tuberculosis which came to necropsy in Dundee hospitals from 1968 to 1975 were diagnosed after death. The overall distribution of anatomical types was similar to that in previous surveys, but in those diagnosed at necropsy there was an excess of psoas abscess and miliary, colonic, and adrenal lesions. Class-IV patients and a history of steroid therapy were also more common in cases diagnosed at necropsy. None of these differences is statistically significant.