Department of Medicine, Hamad General Hospital, Doha-Qatar
Abstract
Background: The main purpose of this study was to describe the demographic and clinical features of cryptic disseminated TB; it was also aimed to shed light on diagnostic test, procedure results, organ involvement, and outcomes of cryptic disseminated TB in patients with confirmed disseminated TB. Materials and Methods: We performed a secondary post hoc analysis of collected data from our previous study entitled “Disseminated Tuberculosis among Adult Patients Admitted to Hamad General Hospital, Qatar: A Five-Year Hospital-Based Study” with modified objectives. This study included patients admitted from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2010. Results: Twenty-three patients were recruited with non-miliary patterns on chest x-ray. Their mean age was 34.4±12.6 years and 15 (65.6%) were males. The mean duration of illness was 46.13±48.4 days and the most common presenting symptom was fever in 20 patients (87%), while 3 (13%) patients had underlying medical conditions with diabetes mellitus 2 (8.7%), being the most common. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and bronchial wash (BW) fluids were Acid-fast bacilli (AFB) positive in 1/4 (25%) of the cases and culture-positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) in 4/4 (100%) of all the cases. Two patients (8.7%) had positive sputum smear, while 18 (78.3%) patients had positive culture for M. tuberculosis. All except one patient completed their treatment in Qatar. One patient died one month after the start of antituberculous treatment. Conclusion: Cryptic disseminated TB should be suspected when a patient from TB-endemic countries develops unexplained fever and cough despite normal or non-miliary pattern chest radiograph. Moreover, respiratory specimen cultures should be obtained from these patients, regardless of the symptoms presented and the initial site of the involved organ.
Yousef Khan,F . (2020). Cryptic Disseminated Tuberculosis: a Secondary Analysis of Previous Hospital-Based Study. TANAFFOS (Respiration), 19(1), 45-49.
MLA
Yousef Khan,F . "Cryptic Disseminated Tuberculosis: a Secondary Analysis of Previous Hospital-Based Study", TANAFFOS (Respiration), 19, 1, 2020, 45-49.
HARVARD
Yousef Khan F. (2020). 'Cryptic Disseminated Tuberculosis: a Secondary Analysis of Previous Hospital-Based Study', TANAFFOS (Respiration), 19(1), pp. 45-49.
CHICAGO
F Yousef Khan, "Cryptic Disseminated Tuberculosis: a Secondary Analysis of Previous Hospital-Based Study," TANAFFOS (Respiration), 19 1 (2020): 45-49,
VANCOUVER
Yousef Khan F. Cryptic Disseminated Tuberculosis: a Secondary Analysis of Previous Hospital-Based Study. TANAFFOS (Respiration). 2020;19(1):45-49.