One year’s experience of extra-pulmonary TB in a county/regional hospital in South Sudan

Abstract

Introduction: Although Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) is becoming rare in the “first” world, it continues to be a killer in South Sudan. The lungs are the most commonly infected organs but extra-pulmonary TB is not uncommon. Objective: To determine the value and limitations of the TB diagnostic aids available at the county/regional hospital.Methods: This paper reports on a series of patients with TB attending a county/regional hospital in one year between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021 and alerts clinicians to the more unusual presentations. We also discuss the application of diagnostic techniques that are available in South Sudan or will be available in the near future. Results: In this 12-month period, 162 patients were diagnosed with TB and 40 with EP TB.Conclusion: Good clinical evaluation plus ultrasound and widely available laboratory studies can lead to the diagnosis of TB, resulting in a good clinical outcome rather than an ill, consumptive patient who continues to spread the disease prior to an untimely death.