Extrapulmonary tuberculosis in surgical specimens.

Tuberculosis is a very common lesion in surgical specimen in our country. This study was designed to explore the distribution of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in various organs through examination of surgical specimens. A total of 103 specimens were diagnosed as tubercular lesion by histological evaluation in the department of pathology, Mymensingh Medical College and a private laboratory during the period from January 1997 to August 1998. Out of 103 cases 36 were male and 67 were female (M: F = 1:1.8) and their age ranged from 4-75 years (median age 28 years). The lesions were distributed as follows: lymphnode 86 (84.9%), intestine 9 (8.7%), bone 2 (1.9%), epididymis 2 (1.9%), fallopian tube 1 (0.97%), pharynx 1 (0.97%) tonsil 1 (0.97%) and nasal mucosa 1 (0.97%). Out of 86 cases of tubercular lymphadenitis, 61 (89.7%) were cervical, 6 (6.8%) were mesenteric and 1 (1.5%) was inguinal. Sixty nine percent clinically diagnosed cases were consistent with histological findings (18 out of 26). This study reveals, in our locality, EPTB is very common in early adulthood with female preponderance. Cervical lymph node is very common sites for EPTB.