Background:

Tuberculosis is an infectious-contagious disease, mainly caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which can be manifested in pulmonary (PTB) in 85% of cases and the rest in extra pulmonary form (EPTB), currently it is a public health problem and the best laboratory diagnosis is the culture (standard reference for diagnosis).

Material and methods:

An observational and retrospective study was carried out, based on the isolation of M. tuberculosis, in extrapulmonary samples by culture using the BACTEC MGIT-960 equipment, as well as the identification and drug-sensitivity tests for each of the isolates.

Results:

654 samples were cultured, obtaining a positivity of 5.5% (36 isolations), 7 of them in patients younger than 15 years old and 3 in patients older than 60 years old, according to the organ/tissue affected: 30.6% skin, 27.8% renal, 11.1% thoracic cavity (except lung), digestive system and joints, respectively, and 8.3% CNS (central nervous system). From the total isolates of the M. tuberculosis complex includes a strain of M. bovis. Regarding the results of drug-sensitivity, 100% sensitivity was obtained for etambutol and rifampicin, 94.5% for isoniacin and 44.0% for pirazinamide.

Conclusions:

The importance of culture for the diagnosis and tests of drug-sensitivity in patients with suspected EPTB was demonstrated.