Background and aim: Abdominal tuberculosis is an important form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Evidence from clinical trials suggests that 6 months of antitubercular therapy (ATT) is sufficient for abdominal tuberculosis.
Methods: We report real-world experience with 6 months of ATT based on a retrospective analysis of patients with abdominal tuberculosis seen at a large tertiary care hospital in India.
Results: Of 101 patients, 93 with complete records were included. The mean age was 35.90 ± 14.06 years, and 53 were males (56.98%). A total of 42 patients (45.16%) had intestinal involvement, 24 (25.08%) had peritoneal, 22 (23.65%) had combined involvement, and 5 patients (5.37%) had isolated lymph nodal involvement. Six patients received prolonged ATT. Six patients developed ATT-induced hepatitis. Of 64 patients with intestinal involvement, 45 had stricturing disease (70.3%), of whom 7 (15.5%) required surgery due to refractory symptoms. Overall, there was one death, and eight patients (including one with massive gastrointestinal bleeding) needed surgery.
Conclusion: Six months of ATT is associated with objective clinical response in most of the patients of abdominal tuberculosis.
Keywords: hepatitis; intestinal tuberculosis; peritoneal tuberculosis; surgery.