Osteoarticular Tuberculosis in Iran, 2002 to 2011

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) still causes serious illnesses in millions of people throughout the world. Although pulmonary TB accounts for the majority of the cases, extrapulmonary TB (EPTB) also contributes to the burden of disease and frequently neglected in the national TB control programs. The present study was designed to investigate the frequency of osteoarticular TB (OT), one of the most common sites of EPTB, in Iran.

Material and Methods: Clinical and laboratory data of patients diagnosed with TB was retrospectively analyzed (September 2002 and December 2011). Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was performed using conventional and molecular methods. The associated risk factors were evaluated using the Chi-square test.

Results: Out of 725 patients with culture-proven EPTB, 10 (1.3%) were OT cases. According to the statistical analysis, patient characteristics (gender, age, nationality) were not significantly associated with OT (p > 0.05).

Conclusions: Our finding showed that the prevalence of OT in our study was relatively low over the last decade. However, further studies would be necessary to elucidate the exact magnitude of OT in Iran.