Diagnosis of tuberculosis requires bacteriological confirmation. The sputum is the material most frequently used for this purpose. In the case of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, it is necessary to obtain other materials, such as urine, pleural fluid, pericardial effusion, ascites, cerebrospinal fluid, sample of tissue, etc. However, compared with sputum, these materials are much less likely to successfully culture mycobacteria. We described a case of a young woman with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis, however confirmation of the disease was obtained from urine culture. Despite hemoptysis and radiological changes typical for tuberculosis, the cultures of mycobacteria from respiratory tract were negative. The patient did not report any symptoms from urinary tract, and urinalysis was normal, ultrasound however revealed changes in the left kidney which were typical for tuberculosis. The mycobacterial culture of urine was positive. Antimycobacterial drugs were applied with a good effect.
Keywords: diagnostics of tuberculosis; extrapulmonary tuberculosis; pulmonary tuberculosis; asymptomatic tuberculosis of kidney.