AbstractBackground: Tuberculosis is a major global public health problem. In 2017, 10 million people fell ill with TB, while 1.6 million died from the disease which included 0.3 million people with HIV and 230 000 children. India is the country with the highest burden and accounted for 27 per cent of the total cases. Although tuberculosis mainly affects the lungs, it may also involve many other sites i.e. lymph nodes, pleura, bones etc. called as extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB); and its prevalence in developing countries like India, ranges from 15- 20%; which goes further high if the patient is co-infected with HIV or has other co-morbidities like diabetes mellitus, malnutrition etc. Objective: To determine the prevalence of PTB and EPTB among admitted cases, study their clinical and demographic profiles and determine various risk factors associated with EPTB. Methods: A record- based observational study was undertaken to determine the demographic and clinical profile and associated risk factors, of all TB cases who were admitted to a tertiary care hospital, over a period of five years, and included all cases of EPTB and PTB. Results: The study comprised of 651 cases, which included 479 (73.6%) males and 173 (26.4%) females. Majority (26.6%) of cases belonged to the age group of > 60 yrs. Rural patients accounted for 55.5% of the cases. Out of 651 cases, 372 (57.1%) had PTB, while 279 (42.8%) had EPTB. Pleura was the commonest site involved (58.7%), followed by lymph node (37.9%) and abdominal cavity (6.8%). Further, 12.5% patients had COPD, 9.5% had Diabetes mellitus, 2.4% had HIV, and 3.9% had MDR TB. Conclusion: Extra-pulmonary TB accounts for a significant proportion of TB cases, though, due to its variable clinical picture and low index of suspicion on part of clinicians, it's often under-diagnosed. Therefore studies are required to determine the actual burden of pulmonary and extra pulmonary cases of tuberculosis in the community .
Keywords: PTB; EPTB; HIV; Diabetes; Tertiary Care Hospital; Pleura; Lymph Nodes.