Renal tuberculosis of the aged

Problems in connection with renal tuberculosis developed by individuals over 50 years of age are discussed. Occurrence, frequency and pathology of old-age renal tuberculosis have been studied on the evidence of 180 autopsies and of 95 kidneys surgically removed and sent in by the Dept of Urology. The disease appears in aged individuals usually in the form of ulcerocavernous renal tuberculosis and only rarely in the nodular or indurative forms which point to increased immunologic resistance of the organism. Miliary tuberculosis does not invariably involve the kidneys. Non-specific pyelonephritis and arteriosclerosis, often present in old people, promote the development of renal tuberculosis. Antituberculous treatment facilitates the development of vascular lesions.