Extrapulmonary would refer to anything which is outside the lungs. There are certain diseases which primarily originate from the lungs but may later on affect other organs outside the lungs and this can be referred to as something extrapulmonary in origin. A good example to this is extrapulmonary tuberculosis. This is a type of respiratory condition but one which is outside the lungs. People oftentimes get confused with extrapulmonary diseases and those which are considered non-respiratory.

Extrapulmonary infections would often first develop within the lungs. In extrapulmonary tuberculosis, the person may have previous infection of the tubercle bacilli within the lungs. Later on, the infection would spread in extrapulmonary organs via the lymphatics. There are two things that can happen though. When the individual has a competent immune system, the causative agent will be killed before this goes extrapulmonary. However, in individuals who are severely immunocompromised, the bacteria may get lodged somewhere extrapulmonary and these may stay there until become activated.

The diagnosis of extrapulmonary diseases especially tuberculosis can be based on an individual’s ethnicity. Diseases like extrapulmonary tuberculosis may be prevalent only in certain regions of the world especially those underdeveloped countries.

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis is still treated in the same way that pulmonary tuberculosis is being treated. The treatment may include rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide and streptomycin. Affected individuals should, however, be monitored for the side effects of these drugs.