Baba Waru Goni, Bukar Bakki, Ismaila Adamu Saidu, Ibrahim Musa Kida, Haruna Yusuph, Ahmed Hamman Gabdo, Ballah Akawu Denue, Abubakar Yerima, Baba Jidda Umar, Mustapha Modu Gofama, Mohammed Arab Alhaji, Mohammed Ashiru Garba, Galadima Bala Gadzama
Background: Information on extrapulmonary TB is scarce in Nigeria despite being one of the 22 countries with highest burden of tuberculosis in the world and the most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa where the dual epidemics of TB and HIV/AIDS mutually co-exist.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to document the burden of extrapulmonary TB in North-eastern Nigeria.
Methodology: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at a DOTS treatment centre in a tertiary hospital in North-eastern Nigeria. TB treatment registers and case records of 1240 patients were reviewed over a 10-year period.
Results: Out of the 1240 TB cases who received treatment at the facility; 179 (14.4%) had extra-pulmonary TB. Skeletal TB and TB lymphadenitis were the predominant forms of extra-pulmonary TB in the study i.e. 51 (28.5%) and 50 (28.0%), respectively. This was closely followed by abdominal TB (38 (21.2%), tuberculous pleural effusion (23 (12.8%), miliary TB (9 (5.0%), TB meningitis (3 (1.7%) and others (5 (2.8%): viz; 1 (0.6%) each of- TB of the breast, TB of the skin, adrenal TB, genitourinary TB and TB pericarditis respectively. Only 101 (56.4%) of the study subjects had information on their HIV status; of whom 52 (51.5%) were HIV positive and 49 (48.5%) HIV negative.
Conclusion: The study has shown that extrapulmonary TB was relatively common among TB patients receiving care at the facility despite its diagnostic challenges particularly in a resource poor setting like ours.
