Extra pulmonary tuberculosis: Overview, manifestations, diagnostic and treatment techniques

Tuberculosis is a major health problem throughout the world. Inhalation is the most susceptible pathway of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, pulmonary tuberculosis being the predominant one. Apart from this, Extra Pulmonary Tuberculosis may also arise as a result of the reactivation of tuberculous focus after dissemination from a chief focus, being a manifestation of tuberculosis infecting about 20% of population worldwide. In case of extra pulmonary tuberculosis, highly vascular areas such as lymph nodes, kidneys, spine, eyes, bones etc are commonly affected. The diagnosis of extra pulmonary tuberculosis relies on the detection of the causative organism after histopathological studies, biopsy, culture techniques and PCR. With the advent of HIV infection, cases of extra pulmonary tuberculosis have become more common because people who are HIV positive and are co infected with tuberculosis tend to develop extra pulmonary tuberculosis in 50% of the cases. The treatment regimen generally constitutes the Anti tuberculosis chemotherapy treatment according to the DOTS therapy as recommended by the WHO. A combination of various therapeutic drugs is given to the patient during the Anti tuberculosis chemotherapy treatment. However, more novel treatment and detection techniques need to be devised for effective and rapid treatment of the disease. Copyright © 2014 VBRI press.