Medical treatment for urogenital tuberculosis (UGTB)

Prostate Tuberculosis Masquerading as Prostate Carcinoma: A Rare Case Report

Genitourinary tuberculosis (GUTB), the second most frequent type of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in endemic regions, was initially described by Wildbolz in 1973. The prostate and epididymis are the first sites of male genital tuberculosis, followed by the seminal vesicles and the testicles. Here, we describe a case of a 65-year-old male who presented with obstructive lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) for the previous six weeks. The digital rectal examination revealed prostatic enlargement with a firm and nodular surface. A high prostate-specific antigen level (88 ng/ml) was found in serum analysis. There was a suspicion of prostate cancer on the basis of clinical, radiological, and serological examination. In view of the suspicion of carcinoma, a prostate biopsy was performed, which revealed the proliferation of prostatic glandular and stromal elements with interspersed granulomas, necrosis, and aggregates of mature lymphoid cells. The histopathology findings were indicative of benign prostatic hyperplasia with granulomatous prostatitis. Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stain was negative for acid-fast bacilli. The cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) for Mycobacterium tuberculosis was ordered on the prostate biopsy tissue bits, which showed positive results. On the basis of histopathology and nucleic acid amplification test, the diagnosis of prostate tuberculosis was considered. There are no specific clinical and radiological findings related to prostate tuberculosis; hence, the diagnosis can be established only after histopathological examination and tissue-based cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test. Clinicians should have a high index of suspicion for tuberculosis, especially in patients from endemic countries who present with symptoms of the lower urinary tract, especially if there is granulomatous inflammation coupled with necrosis.

Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis—An Update on the Diagnosis, Treatment and Drug Resistance

Pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex organisms (MTBC) primarily cause pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB); however, MTBC are also capable of causing disease in extrapulmonary (EP) organs, which pose a significant threat to human health worldwide. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) accounts for about 20–30% of all active TB cases and affects mainly children and adults with compromised immune systems. EPTB can occur through hematogenous, lymphatic, or localized bacillary dissemination from a primary source, such as PTB, and affects the brain, eye, mouth, tongue, lymph nodes of neck, spine, bones, muscles, skin, pleura, pericardium, gastrointestinal, peritoneum, and the genitourinary system as primary and/or disseminated disease. EPTB diagnosis involves clinical, radiological, microbiological, histopathological, biochemical/immunological, and molecular methods. However, only culture and molecular techniques are considered confirmatory to differentiate MTBC from any non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species. While EPTB due to MTBC responds to first-line anti-TB drugs (ATD), drug susceptibility profiling is an essential criterion for addressing drug-resistant EPTB cases (DR-EPTB). Besides antibiotics, adjuvant therapy with corticosteroids has also been used to treat specific EPTB cases. Occasionally, surgical intervention is recommended, mainly when organ damage is debilitating to the patient. Recent epidemiological studies show a striking increase in DR-EPTB cases ranging from 10–15% across various reports. As a neglected disease, significant developments in rapid and accurate diagnosis and better therapeutic interventions are urgently needed to control the emerging EPTB situation globally. In this review, we discuss the recent advances in the clinical diagnosis, treatment, and drug resistance of EPTB.

Hospitalizations and Treatment Outcomes in Patients with Urogenital Tuberculosis in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 2016-2018

Despite the global shift to ambulatory tuberculosis (TB) care, hospitalizations remain common in Uzbekistan. This study examined the duration and determinants of hospitalizations among adult patients (≥18 years) with urogenital TB (UGTB) treated with first-line anti-TB drugs during 2016–2018 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This was a cohort study based on the analysis of health records. Of 142 included patients, 77 (54%) were males, the mean (±standard deviation) age was 40 ± 16 years, and 68 (48%) were laboratory-confirmed. A total of 136 (96%) patients were hospitalized during the intensive phase, and 12 (8%) had hospital admissions during the continuation phase of treatment. The median length of stay (LOS) during treatment was 56 days (Interquartile range: 56–58 days). LOS was associated with history of migration (adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR): 0.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.32–0.69, p < 0.001); UGTB-related surgery (aIRR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.01–1.38, p = 0.045); and hepatitis B comorbidity (aIRR: 3.18, 95% CI: 1.98–5.39, p < 0.001). The treatment success was 94% and it was not associated with the LOS. Hospitalization was almost universal among patients with UGTB in Uzbekistan. Future research should focus on finding out what proportion of hospitalizations were not clinically justified and could have been avoided.