Tuberculosis of the Urinary Tract in Southern Thailand
Monthira Tanthanuch MD*, Watid Karnjanawanichkul MD*, Choosak Pripatnanont MD*
Affiliation : * Urological Section, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
Background : The urinary system is one of the common sites of involvement of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB). The
accurate diagnosis and treatment of extrapulmonary TB is complex and difficult.
Objective : To address the epidemiology and drug susceptibility of urinary tract TB in southern Thailand.
Material and Method: A retrospective analysis of data collected at the time of diagnosis of urinary tract TB cases, during a
10-year period from1998 to 2007. Data collection included demography, presenting symptoms, laboratory investigations,
and imaging studies of the urinary system.
Results : During a 10-year period of the present study, 35 new cases of urinary tract TB were diagnosed, with a male/female
ratio of 1.3:1 and a common age group of 31-40 years. 34.3% of the patients were farmers. The most presenting symptoms
were polyuria, dysuria and acidic urinary pH with pyuria. 80% of the patients had abnormal imaging studies of the urinary
system, with hydronephrosis being the most frequently found condition. Fifty seven point one percent had positive urine
cultures for Mycobacterium and 0.05% of them had streptomycin resistance, while none of them had an HIV coinfection.
Conclusion : The urinary tract TB was more common in male with a common age group of 31-40 years. The common
presenting symptoms were long-standing urinary symptoms as frequency in urination, dysuria, hematuria and acidic urinary
pH associated with pyuria. In the present study, there was only 0.05% of streptomycin resistance, however, no patients with
HIV infection.
Keywords : Urinary tract TB, HIV coinfection, Drug resistance
