Pictorial Review

The silent pandemic in South Africa: Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis from head to heel

Camilla E. Le Roux, Sucari S.C. Vlok
South African Journal of Radiology | Vol 25, No 1 | a2026 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajr.v25i1.2026 | © 2021 Camilla E. Le Roux, Sucari S.C. Vlok | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 16 October 2020 | Published: 16 April 2021

About the author(s)

Camilla E. Le Roux, Department of Medical Imaging and Clinical Oncology, Medicine and Health Sciences, Tygerberg Hospital, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
Sucari S.C. Vlok, Department of Medical Imaging and Clinical Oncology, Medicine and Health Sciences, Tygerberg Hospital, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is the leading cause of communicable disease-related deaths in people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) worldwide and in South Africa. Mycobacterium tuberculosis disseminates haematogenously from an active primary lung focus and may affect extra-pulmonary sites in up to 15% of patients. Extra-pulmonary TB may present with a normal chest radiograph, which often causes a significant diagnostic dilemma. This review describes the main sites of involvement in EPTB, which is illustrated by local imaging examples.

Keywords

extra-pulmonary TB; circulatory system; lungs; organ systems; chest radiograph; diagnosis

Metrics

Total abstract views: 5079
Total article views: 6244

 

Crossref Citations

1. Diagnostic value of third-generation nanopore sequencing in extrapulmonary tuberculosis
Chang Song, Chunyan Zhao, Yanrong Lin, Yingxing Nong, Aichun Huang, Shaoyong Xi, Xiaoying Wei, Chunmei Zeng, Shixiong Yang, Qingdong Zhu
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology  vol: 14  year: 2025  
doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1432446

2. Same Pathogen, Different Manifestations: A Case of Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis
Joana A Cabrera, Margarida Mota
Cureus  year: 2023  
doi: 10.7759/cureus.50436

3. An updated patent review on drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis (2018-present)
Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sisir Nandi, Anil K. Saxena
Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents  vol: 32  issue: 3  first page: 243  year: 2022  
doi: 10.1080/13543776.2022.2012151

4. Extra-Pulmonary Tuberculosis in the Uterine Cervix: A Case Report
Charles Lukanga Kimera, Fredrick Sinyinza, Linda Ndesipandula Lukolo
Case Reports in Clinical Medicine  vol: 11  issue: 10  first page: 409  year: 2022  
doi: 10.4236/crcm.2022.1110057