Lymph Node TB Outcomes Good

OB/GYN News, Dec 15, 1999 by Katherine Arnold

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis in the lymph nodes does not affect perinatal outcomes, Dr. Narayan Jana of Memorial Hospital in Darlington, England, and associates reported.

Of 33 pregnant women treated for extrapulmonary tuberculosis either before or during pregnancy, the 12 women with tuberculosis lymphadenitis had prenatal and intrapartum events and perinatal outcomes similar to those of a control group of 132 pregnant women (N. Engl. J. Med. 341[9]:645-49, 1999).

The remaining 21 women who had intestinal, skeletal, renal, meningeal, or endometrial tuberculosis were hospitalized during pregnancy 22% more often than the control group. Their babies weighed an average of 251 g less and more frequently had Apgar scores of 6 or less 1 minute after birth, compared with control infants.

Four women finished treatment for extrapulmonary tuberculosis before they became pregnant; the remainder were treated during pregnancy, the investigators said.