The therapy for urogenital tuberculosis

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a communicable disease that is a major cause of ill health. Urogenital TB was a frequent urological disease in the pre-antibiotic era: about 20% of patients in urological hospitals had renal TB, mostly in the form of pyonephrosis. We composed a narrative review of the literature with keywords “urogenital tuberculosis’, “prostate tuberculosis” “kidney tuberculosis”, “treatment of tuberculosis”. Urogenital TB (UGTB) includes TB of the kidney and the urinary tract and male and female genital TB. Each clinical presentation requires tailored antibiotic therapy depending on stage and general management. Anti-TB therapy should be multicomponent, continuous, long-lasting and controlled with a follow-up for 2-3 years. Otherwise, the risks of development of drug-resistance and relapse increase. Index of suspicion on UGTB is generally low, causing a delay in diagnosis; consequently, complicated forms of UGTB respond poorly to anti-TB therapy, while timely diagnosed “minor” forms are curable medically without surgery. Even with timely diagnosed UGTB, non-optimal therapy may result in over-fibrosis, scarring and strictures of the urinary tract, making surgical repair inevitable. Nevertheless, we have a wide enough spectrum of anti-TB drugs to cure urogenital TB.