Estimating the impact of tuberculosis anatomical classification on treatment outcomes: A patient and surveillance perspective analysis

Introduction

Tuberculosis anatomical classification is inconsistent in the literature, which limits current tuberculosis knowledge and control. We aimed to evaluate whether tuberculosis classification impacts on treatment outcomes at patient and aggregate level.

Methods

We analyzed adults from São Paulo State, Brazil with newly diagnosed tuberculosis from 2010–2013. We used an extended clinical classification of tuberculosis, categorizing cases as pulmonary, pulmonary and extrapulmonary, extrapulmonary and miliary/disseminated. Our primary outcome was unsuccessful outcome of treatment. To investigate the reported treatment outcome at the aggregate level, we sampled 500 different “countries” from the dataset and compared the impact of pulmonary and extrapulmonary classifications on the reported treatment success.

Results

Of 62,178 patients, 49,999 (80.4%) were pulmonary, 9,026 (14.5%) extrapulmonary, 1,651 (2.7%) pulmonary-extrapulmonary and 1,502 (2.4%) miliary/disseminated. Pulmonary-extrapulmonary cases had similar unsuccessful outcome of treatment compared with pulmonary (adjusted-OR 1.00, 95%CI, 0.88–1.13, p = 0.941), while extrapulmonary were associated with better (adjusted-OR 0.65, 95%CI, 0.60–0.71, p<0.001) and miliary/disseminated with worse outcomes (adjusted-OR 1.51, 95%CI, 1.33–1.71, p<0.001). We found that 60 (12%) countries would report a difference ≥10% in treatment success depending on whether they reported all clinical forms together (current WHO recommendation) or pulmonary forms alone, overestimating the treatment success of pulmonary forms.

Conclusions

The expanded anatomical classification of tuberculosis was strongly associated with treatment outcomes at the patient level. Remarkably, pulmonary with concomitant extrapulmonary forms had similar treatment outcomes compared with pulmonary forms after adjustment for potential confounders. At the aggregate level, reporting treatment success for all clinical forms together might hide differences in progress between pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis control.

Isolated tuberculous osteomyelitis of the talonavicular joint without pulmonary involvement-a rare case report

Tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of death worldwide amongst curable diseases. It is estimated that one-third of the world's population has been diagnosed with tuberculosis infection [1]. The prevalence is on the rise with an estimated 9.4 million new cases per year worldwide [1]. Tuberculosis most commonly presents with pulmonary involvement. However, approximately 23-30% of patients found to be infected with tuberculosis have extrapulmonary symptoms [2]. Of those, only 1-3% have been found to have osseous disease. Skeletal involvement with a primary focus of tuberculosis usually affects major weight-bearing joints such as the hip and knee. Tuberculosis infections of the foot and ankle are very rare, accounting for 1% of all tuberculosis infections [2-4]. Difficulties arise in the timing of diagnosis, patient compliance of therapy and awareness of the less obvious presenting symptoms. Musculoskeletal tuberculosis, although rare, can be a problem. Its uncommon site, non-specific presenting symptoms and its ability to mimic numerous disorders make it more difficult to formulate a definitive diagnosis and, in turn, leads to therapeutic delays [5-7]. It is for this reason that we report this case in an effort to promote awareness.

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis: 7 year-experience of a tertiary center in Istanbul

BACKGROUND

Although a decreasing trend of tuberculosis (TB) was reported in Turkey, higher proportion of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPT) was revealed.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In this retrospective study, clinical and laboratory data of 141 EPT patients were evaluated for a seven-year period by using descriptive statistics, and parametric and non-parametric tests where appropriate.

RESULTS

The most frequent types of EPT were meningeal TB (23%) and TB lymphadenitis (21%), respectively. Other types of EPT were skeletal, miliary, peritoneal, abscess, genitourinarial, cutaneous and gastrointestinal involvement which ranged between 18% and 1%. Mean age was 42 and female/male ratio was almost equal. All patients were born in Turkey. Although all of them were permanent residents of Istanbul, 73% of the patients came from East and Southeast Region of Turkey. For the patients, being older than 40 years old (p<0.01), having miliary TB (p<0.05) and high CRP levels (p<0.05) were found to be associated with mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

EPT still remains as a significant morbidity and mortality reason in lower income populations and developing countries. In our study, although all patients were residents of Istanbul approximately two thirds of them have migrated from East and Southeast parts of the country. The relatively high prevalence of tuberculosis cases in Istanbul may be due to the permanent migration from other parts of the country. Early diagnosis and initiation of appropriate treatment are the keys for reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with EPT, particularly in the cases of older ages.

Tuberculous osteomyelitis of the midfoot in the absence of a pulmonary lesion: a case report

A 57-year-old Somalian woman presented to the podiatry clinic in 2001, 9 years after immigrating to the United States, with a complaint of right foot pain overlying the Lisfranc joint after a twisting injury. Radiographs and CT scans showed no signs of fracture. One year later, the patient presented with painful, swollen soft tissues mass overlying the previous injury area. MRI revealed heterogeneous masses with underlying bony erosions. Soft tissue biopsy revealed a granulomatous lesion, suspect for Mycobacterium. A subsequent bone biopsy produced an acid-fast bacillus by DNA-RNA probe consistent with Mycobacterium species. The patient had a positive Mantoux test, but a negative chest X-ray, displaying no constitutive symptoms of fatigue or weight loss associated with most cases of tuberculosis. She was treated with anti-tuberculin medications for 9 months and conservative management of the bony lesions with a complete resolution of symptoms.

[Treatment of extrapulmonary tuberculosis and complicated forms of pulmonary tuberculosis]

Tuberculosis is one of the most important health problems worldwide. In developed countries there is an increased number of cases due to different reasons. The most likely determinant cause is from immigrants coming from high endemic areas. This phenomenon is a direct cause of the increase in extrapulmonary and complicated pulmonary forms of tuberculosis. There are only a few controlled clinical trials evaluating therapies for extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Consequently, documented evidence is scarce, particularly in paediatrics. The majority of therapeutic recommendations are based on series of cases or expert opinions, with a lack of uniformity provided by the different consensus of the main scientific societies. The main objective of this fourth consensus by the Tuberculosis Study Group of the Spanish Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases (Sociedad Española de Infectología Pediátrica, SEIP) is to perform a thorough revision of the data obtained from scientific literature, in order to establish recommendations for the treatment of extrapulmonary tuberculosis and complicated forms of pulmonary tuberculosis, adapted to the characteristics and drugs available in Spain.