Abstract

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis refers to disease other than the lungs. The recent pandemic of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has changed the epidemiology of tuberculosis and has once again brought extrapulmonary tuberculosis into the limelight. Over the last two decades the incidence of extrapulmonary tuberculosis has increased at a faster rate than that of pulmonary tuberculosis. The clinical manifestations of extrapulmonary tuberculosis are mostly nonspecific and insidious, resulting in delay of the diagnosis. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis is usually paucibacillary and any treatment regimen that is effective for treating pulmonary tuberculosis is also likely to be effective for the treatment of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Short-course therapy is mostly suitable for most patients with extrapulmonary tuberculosis, but patients having HIV infection require longer treatment. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis is a persistent problem around the world and is becoming more prevalent as the number of AIDS patients is increased. A high index of suspicion is require for diagnosis and treatment of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, since extrapulmonary tuberculosis can involve any organ system. In this review an attempt has been made to provide a critical overview of the management and control of more commonly encountered forms of extrapulmonary tuberculosis.

Keywords: Extrapulmonary tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, acid fast bacilli, fine needle aspirate, Peyer's patch, slide agglutination, direct observation therapy, nanoparticles