Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of febrile extrapulmonary tuberculosis patients referred with fever of unknown origin
| Variables | Total (n = 95) | Group of early diagnosis (n = 64) | Group of delayed diagnosis (n = 31) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median age, years (range) | 56 (15–88) | 51 (18–81) | 64 (15–88) | 0.128 | |
| Male sex, n (%) | 53 (55.8) | 37 (57.8) | 16 (51.6) | 0.568 | |
| Previous history of TB, n (%) | 7 (7.4) | 4 (6.3) | 3 (9.7) | 0.549 | |
| Comorbidity, n (%) | None | 45 (47.4) | 33 (51.6) | 12 (38.7) | 0.239 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 18 (19.0) | 8 (12.5) | 10 (32.3) | 0.021 | |
| Hypertension | 25 (26.3) | 13 (20.3) | 12 (38.7) | 0.056 | |
| Chronic kidney disease | 18 (19.0) | 9 (14.1) | 9 (29.0) | 0.081 | |
| Heart failure | 9 (9.5) | 4 (6.3) | 5 (16.1) | 0.123 | |
| Chronic liver disease | 3 (3.2) | 3 (4.7) | 0 | 0.548 | |
| Chronic obstructive lung disease | 1 (1.1) | 0 | 1 (3.2) | 0.326 | |
| CVA with residual sequelae | 9 (9.5) | 5 (7.8) | 4 (12.9) | 0.467 | |
| Solid organ malignancy | 2 (2.1) | 2 (3.1) | 0 | 1.000 | |
| Hematologic malignancy | 5 (5.3) | 2 (3.1) | 3 (9.7) | 0.326 | |
| Autoimmune disease | 6 (6.3) | 5 (7.8) | 1 (3.2) | 0.660 | |
| Solid organ transplantation | 2 (2.1) | 2 (3.1) | 0 | 1.000 | |
| HIV-infected | 4 (4.2) | 3 (4.7) | 1 (3.2) | 1.000 | |
| Median fever duration before admission, days (IQR) | 11 (0–29) | 12.5 (0–25.5) | 8 (0–31) | 0.178 | |
| Median duration from admission to diagnosis, days (IQR) | 2 (1–5) | 1 (0–2) | 8 (5–11) | <0.001 | |
| Median duration from anti-TB medication to the resolution of fever, days (IQR) | 3 (2–5) | 2 (2–11) | 3 (2–4) | 0.199 | |
| Median length of hospital stay, days (IQR) | 14 (9–24) | 12 (7–22) | 21 (15–32) | 0.037 | |
| Indication for the start of anti-TB medication, n (%) | MTB culture | 2 (2.1) | 2 (3.1) | 0 | 0.695 |
| AFB smear, MTB-PCR, histopathology/cytology | 78 (82.1) | 51 (79.7) | 27 (87.1) | ||
| Clinical decision | 15 (15.8) | 11 (17.2) | 4 (12.9) | ||
| Final diagnosis, n (%) | Definite TB | 68 (71.6) | 49 (76.6) | 19 (61.3) | 0.271 |
| Probable TB | 23 (24.2) | 13 (20.3) | 10 (32.2) | ||
| Possible TB | 4 (4.2) | 2 (3.1) | 2 (6.5) | ||
| Treatment outcome, n (%) | Success | 78 (82.1) | 52 (81.3) | 26 (83.9) | 1.000 |
| Failure | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Death | 4 (4.2) | 3 (4.7) | 1 (3.2) | ||
| Default | 13 (13.7) | 9 (14.0) | 4 (12.9) | ||
Abbreviations: AFB acid-fast bacilli, CVA cerebrovascular accident, EPTB extrapulmonary tuberculosis, HIV human immunodeficiency virus, IQR interquartile range, PTB pulmonary tuberculosis, TB tuberculosis