Abstract

GANA, E  and  SCHIAPPACASSE, G. Extrapulmonary TB Tomography and some Associated Complications. Rev. argent. radiol. [online]. 2018, vol.82, n.1, pp.28-35. ISSN 1852-9992.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-0038-1637028.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease of high morbility and mortality in Chile and in the world. It is the second cause of death due to infectious causes in the world, and is considered of high relevance to public health. TB is caused by a highly pathogenic and virulent bacterium denominated mycobacterium tuberculosis. Nowadays, there are effective protocols for detection and treatment of this disease, which make it preventable and curable. Diagnosis is reached by specific bacteriological studies in the presence of a clinical epidemiological suspicion. Nevertheless, imagining methods are almost an obligatory part of tuberculosis study and control. Since the lung is the target organ of TB, chest X-ray is commonly used as a support for diagnosis, which is very useful in case of pulmonary TB because it provides characteristic findings to guide diagnosis. It is important to highlight that the mycobacterium tuberculosis has a high potential for dissemination by contiguity, via lymphatic and/or haematogenous, the latter being the cause of the majority of extrapulmonary TB, which are presented in 20% of immunocompetent patients and by up to 60% of immunocompromised. The main site of extrapulmonary TB is into the pleural space, followed by the lymph node, urogenital and osteoarticular involvement, the remainder being infrequent localizations. In these cases, a computed tomography (CT) study based on the selection of images, is the tool used for diagnosis and control, which is also useful for the detection of complications.

Keywords : Tuberculosis; Computed tomography; Lung.

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