Table 1.
Comparison of pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB
| Pulmonary n=49 (%) |
Extrapulmonary n=26 (%) |
P values | |
| Median age (years) | 10.1 (IQR 3.5–13.5) | 5.1 (IQR 1.2–10.2) | 0.03 |
| Gender | |||
| Males | 25 (51) | 14 (54) | 0.82 |
| Females | 24 (49) | 12 (46) | |
| Nationality | |||
| Singapore residents | 37 (76) | 16 (62) | 0.21 |
| Non-Singapore residents | 12 (24) | 10 (38) | |
| Received BCG vaccine | 41 (89) | 19 (76) | 0.14 |
| Comorbidities | |||
| Immunodeficient | 3 (6) | 9 (35) | <0.01 |
| Not immunodeficient | 46 (94) | 17 (65) | |
| Contact history | |||
| Positive contact | 22 (45) | 6 (23) | 0.06 |
| No contact history | 27 (55) | 20 (77) | |
| Symptoms | |||
| Significant fever | 9 (19) | 11 (48) | 0.01 |
| Significant cough | 22 (51) | 3 (14) | <0.01 |
| Significant weight loss | 18 (39) | 6 (27) | 0.34 |
| Median weight loss (% body weight) | 10.6 (IQR 5.8–20.0) | 16.3 (IQR 13.6–40.6) | 0.29 |
| Fatigue | 2 (4) | 2 (8) | 0.60 |
| Lymphadenopathy | 2 (4) | 8 (31) | <0.01 |
| ≥2 symptoms stated above | 14 (29) | 5 (23) | 0.61 |
| No symptom stated above | 22 (45) | 11 (42) | 0.83 |
| Haematological results | |||
| Median haemoglobin (g/dL) | 12.0 (IQR 10.5–13.9) | 11.2 (IQR 10.2–11.9) | 0.03 |
| Median white blood cells (x109/L) | 11.2 (IQR 7.5–15.6) | 10.2 (IQR 7.6–12.0) | 0.15 |
| Median platelet count (x109/L) | 376.5 (IQR 281.5–451.0) | 377.0 (IQR 339.5–507.0) | 0.38 |
| Median ESR (mm/hour) | 40.0 (IQR 15.0–85.0) | 34.0 (IQR 19.0–54.5) | 0.61 |
| Median CRP (mg/L) | 36.0 (IQR 16.5–84.4) | 32.4 (IQR 8.6–69.3) | 0.43 |
| Immunological results | |||
| Positive TST | 20 (41) | 6 (23) | 0.10 |
| Positive IGRA | 20 (41) | 12 (46) | 0.80 |
| Microbiological | |||
| Microbiologically proven | 26 (53) | 19 (73) | 0.10 |
| Not microbiologically proven | 23 (47) | 7 (27) | |
| Microbiological results | |||
| ≥1 site/sample positive AFB smear | 13 (27) | 7 (28) | 0.89 |
| ≥1 site/sample positive AFB culture | 24 (49) | 15 (58) | 0.47 |
| ≥1 site/sample positive TB PCR | 14 (40) | 12 (60) | 0.15 |
| Abnormal CXR | 41 (84) | 10 (39) | <0.01 |
| Treatment outcome | |||
| Recovered | 28 (57) | 7 (27) | 0.01 |
| Death | 2 (4) | 4 (15) | 0.17 |
| Relapsed | 1 (2) | 1 (4) | - |
| Sequelae | 10 (20) | 9 (35) | 0.18 |
| Lost to follow-up | 8 (16) | 3 (12) | 0.73 |
| Still completing treatment | 0 (0) | 2 (8) | - |
| Median duration of treatment (months) | 6.0 (IQR 6.0–9.0) | 12.0 (IQR 9.0–12.0) | <0.01 |
AFB, acid-fast bacilli; CRP, C-reactive protein; CXR, chest X-ray; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; IGRA, interferon gamma release assay; TST, tuberculin skin test.