A clinical comparison of the urine acid-fast bacilli culture results in renal tuberculosis

Choi, Hak Ryong; Kim, Sung Jin

Abstract

A clinical comparison of the urine acid-fast bacilli culture results with 82 cases of renal tuberculosis patients was made who were admitted to the Department of Urology, Wonju Christian Hospital during the period from January, 1982 to December, 1989. The urine acid-fast bacilli culture positive rate was 37.8%. The glucose and protein contents in urine of culture positive group were 47.6 mg% and 56. 8mg% and they were higher than those of culture negative group's 29.4 mg% and 27.7 mg%. The most frequent symptom in the urine acid-fast bacilli culture positive group was voiding symptoms (48%), and flank pain was the most frequent symptom(48%) in the urine acid-fast bacilli culture negative group. Non visualized kidney or delayed visualization was the main excretory urography findings in 41% of the culture positive and 74% of the culture negative group. In early renal tuberculosis the radiologic changes are minimaland the culture positive rate is high and the main complaints of patients are bladder irritation symptoms, later the disease progresses and the obstructive symptom appear more frequently and the culture positive rate is low. We concluded that the culture positive rate, excretory urography findings and main symptoms are related with the drainage of urine.