National profile and treatment outcomes of patients with extrapulmonary tuberculosis in Bénin.

Abstract

BackgroundIn sub-Saharan Africa, there is a dearth of published literature on extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB).ObjectiveTo describe demographic, diagnostic and HIV-status characteristics of patients with EPTB in Bénin, their treatment outcomes, and among those who completed their treatment in the Centre National Hospitalier de Pneumo-Phtisiologie (CNHP-P), the proportion whose bodyweight increased during treatment.Material and findingsThis was a retrospective cohort study with comparisons made between EPTB and new smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (NPTB) patients diagnosed in the country from January to December 2011. There were 383 EPTB patients (9% of all TB cases) with a mean age of 35 years, male/female ratio of 1.3 and important regional variation. There were significantly more females (p = 0.001), children ConclusionPatients with EPTB generally do well in Bénin, although the TB Programme would benefit through more attention to accurate diagnosis and earlier start of ART in HIV-infected patients.