Clinical spectrum of extrapulmonary tuberculosis at a tertiary care centre in Ghana: a retrospective study
BMC Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12879-026-13810-9
- PMID
- 42288814
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W7164665423
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The findings provide clinical and epidemiologic context for EPTB case detection in the reported Ghanaian hospital setting. The abstract identifies the diversity of EPTB presentations as relevant to diagnosis and management, but it does not establish effects on population-level tuberculosis surveillance or outcomes.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study examined the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and demographic and clinical factors associated with extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in Ghana.
Study design
This was a retrospective review of tuberculosis cases recorded at the Chest Clinic of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital between October 2023 and November 2025. Cases were categorized as pulmonary tuberculosis or EPTB, and multivariate logistic regression was used to assess associations with selected EPTB manifestations.
Population and setting
The population comprised 1,098 patients with tuberculosis seen at a tertiary teaching hospital in Ghana. The analysis identified 179 patients with isolated EPTB.
Main findings
Among the reviewed tuberculosis cases, 179 of 1,098 patients had isolated EPTB. Spinal tuberculosis and tuberculosis lymphadenitis were the most common reported manifestations, and the abstract describes differences in demographic and HIV-related associations across EPTB phenotypes.
Public-health relevance
The findings provide clinical and epidemiologic context for EPTB case detection in the reported Ghanaian hospital setting. The abstract identifies the diversity of EPTB presentations as relevant to diagnosis and management, but it does not establish effects on population-level tuberculosis surveillance or outcomes.
Important limitations
The study was retrospective and conducted at a single tertiary care centre, which limits the scope of the reported evidence. The analysis focused on isolated EPTB, and the authors noted that concurrent pulmonary and extrapulmonary disease was not evaluated; this summary is also limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata and requires the original paper for decision-grade interpretation.
GIDS interpretation
This article is discoverable as Ghana- and tuberculosis-related evidence concerning EPTB clinical presentation and diagnostics. The supplied material supports contextual use of the paper only and does not connect its findings to a live surveillance signal or confirm surveillance data.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 8 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.