title: Tuberculosis in dialysis patients, single centre experience from an endemic area.
abstract: Because of immunity defect, patients with end-stage renal disease are at increased risk of developing infections, tuberculosis (TB) in particular. The incidence of TB is higher in dialysis patients than in general population. We retrospectively reviewed the charts of dialysis patients with TB in our facility. A total of 287 dialysis patients (153 male, 134 female, 223 haemodialysis (HD), 64 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients, mean age 46 +/- 15) were reviewed from October 1997 to January 2002. TB developed in 30 patients (17 male, 13 female, 24 HD and six CAPD). Thirteen patients with TB presented with fever of unknown origin (FUO) and four of them subsequently developed military lesions on chest X-ray. Nine patients had pulmonary TB (four with pleural effusions), five patients had TB lymphadenits, two patients had TB peritonitis and one patient had vertebral TB. TB was presented mostly as FUO among dialysis patients in a region under poor socio-economic conditions. In such areas with endemic TB, dialysis patients who present with FUO should be carefully evaluated for the presence of TB, and test therapy for TB should be performed in otherwise unexplained FUO.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Yuzuncu Yil University, Medical Faculty, Van, Turkey.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Erkoc
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dogan
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sayarlioglu
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Etlik
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Topal
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Calka
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uzun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents