Objective: Tuberculosis (TB) is an infection that can involve all tissues and organs. Although pulmonary TB (PTB) is more common, extrapulmonary TB (EPTB) is still a major clinical problem. The incidence of EPTB is 35.1% and in recent years; there has been an increase in EPTB case reporting in our country. In this study, we retrospectively investigated the clinical and laboratory characteristics of rare EPTB cases.

Methods: The study included rare EPTB patients diagnosed and/or followed up in our clinic. Cases with pleural TB and lymph node TB were excluded from the study. The diagnosis of EPTB was made by clinical, microbiological and/or histopathological and/or radiological findings and response to treatment. The demographic features, clinical findings and laboratory values were recorded from patient files, and were evaluated in terms of EPTB.

Results: Fifty patients were included in the study (mean age=34±15.8 years, female/male=33/17). The most frequently involved organ was peritoneum (n=13, 26%). There was multi-organ involvement in 4 cases (8%). Co-existence of EPTB with PTB was determined in 9 cases (18%). Four patients had a history of TB and 14 had a history of contact with TB. All the cases were human immunodeficiency virus-negative, and one case was hepatitis B surface antigen positive. The major complaints were abdominal pain, weight loss, night sweats, fever, and cough. Twenty-three patients had normal chest radiographs and the mean duration of treatment was 9 months.

Conclusion: TB is a serious public health problem in Turkey as well as all over the world. Since it is a treatable disease, early diagnosis and treatment have utmost importance for avoiding the serious complications of rare EPTB forms.