Pott��s disease mimicking metastasis

Case report of one patient with tuberculosis of both the posterior and anterior elements of the spine presenting with severe back pain and upper motor neuron type of weakness in both the lower limbs are described who was initially diagnosed as a case of dorsal spine metastasis with unknown primary. This patient underwent extensive radiological and biochemical survey to find out the primary neoplasm but in vain. CT-guided biopsy was done. Biopsy proved the diagnosis of tuberculosis. Proper diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis was made. Patient started on standard anti-tubercular regimen. At 3 months follow-up, patient had no neurological deficit with marked reduction in back pain. Thus, in developing countries where tuberculosis is an endemic disease, tuberculosis must be kept as a differential diagnosis in all cases of extradural compressive myelopathy.     

Disseminated tuberculosis, bone marrow necrosis and lymphoma: a case report

Tuberculosis often complicates lymphoma, and bone marrow necrosis has been described in disseminated tuberculosis. However, the association of lymphoma, disseminated tuberculosis and bone marrow necrosis is rare. We report a patient with this triple association. After a 3-week influenza-like illness the patient was admitted to hospital semicomatose with pancytopenia and hyponatraemia. During routine examination a bone marrow trephine biopsy revealed diffuse lymphomatous infiltration with scattered necrotic foci. On Ziehl-Neelsen staining these foci exhibited numerous acid-fast bacilli. The patient subsequently died and at autopsy was found to have widely disseminated non-reactive tuberculosis.     

Non-healing gastro-duodenal ulcer: A rare presentation of primary abdominal tuberculosis

INTRODUCTIONWe present a case of primary gastrointestinal tuberculosis that has culminated in ulcer formation, in the absence of pulmonary involvement in an immunocompetent patient.PRESENTATION OF CASEA 28-year-old Asian male presented to casualty with a 1-week history of epigastric cramping abdominal pain and several episodes of non-bilious vomiting. The patient deteriorated clinically, becoming more cachectic and given his unexplained weight loss, an oesophageal-gastro-duodenal endoscopic imaging confirmed a duodenal ulcer. The biopsy of the non-healing ulcer was the hallmark of the disease, revealing evidence of granulomatous inflammation consistent with tuberculosis bacilli.DISCUSSIONGastrointestinal tuberculosis with ulceration is rare with respect to the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum. This case proves to be unique, as our patient had experienced primary isolated gastric tuberculosis in the absence of pulmonary tuberculosis in a healthy individual. Immunohistochemical staining, histopathology and radiological investigations have demonstrated their importance in confirming abdominal tuberculosis and the extent of bowel involvement.CONCLUSIONThis case has illustrated the difficulties associated with a prompt diagnosis of an unusual case of primary duodenal tuberculosis from chronic peptic ulcer disease in an immunocompetent patient.     

Isolated focal pyomyositis of teres minor: an unusual presentation of tuberculosis

Atypical and unusual presentations of tuberculosis have become a major diagnostic problem for health professionals. We describe a 30-year-old male patient with a tuberculosis abscess in the teres minor muscle. The patient was initially misdiagnosed due to this unusual presentation and the definitive diagnosis was only made after the histological examination of the drainage material. The patient responded to the anti-tuberculosis therapy and there was no recurrence after 4 years.     

A Rare Manifestation of Tuberculosis in a Renal Transplant Patient: A Case Report

Cutaneous lesions in the presence of fever in patients undergoing immunosuppressive therapy are a diagnostic challenge and may represent manifestations of multiple diseases, such as fungal infections, nocardiosis, lymphoproliferative diseases, zoonosis, and tuberculosis. The authors report a case of a 66-year-old white man with chronic kidney disease since 2014 (chronic pyelonephritis) who had a renal transplant in the previous 6 months. Induction therapy was performed with thymoglobulin, and his current immunosuppression scheme included tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and prednisolone. The patient had no history of pulmonary tuberculosis. The patient presented with 2 cutaneous lesions, localized on the back and abdomen, that appeared to be firm, painful, subcutaneous, erythematous nodules with an approximately 5 cm diameter overlying an infected focus and purulent material inside. The patient also had a fever and fatigue. Blood analysis showed pancytopenia with an elevation of inflammatory markers and graft dysfunction. Tissue cultures and skin biopsy with histological analysis were performed. Histopathology of the lesion showed a nonspecific inflammatory infiltrate without granulomas, and acid-fast bacillus staining was negative. Nevertheless, serum QuantiFERON testing was positive. But polymerase chain reaction finally confirmed the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which confirmed the diagnosis of cutaneous tuberculosis. A chest computed tomography scan showed a lung pattern of miliary tuberculosis. The patient was treated with multidrug tuberculosis therapy, resulting in lesion clearance after 3 weeks. Tuberculosis is a serious infection, especially in high-risk patients, such as those in an immunocompromised state. The incidence of cutaneous tuberculosis is rare, but it should be considered in patients presenting with atypical skin lesions suggestive of an underlying infectious etiology.     

Spinal tuberculosis: report of an atypical presentation

A 24-year-old woman was treated by the authors for an atypical form of spinal tuberculosis. The patient had simultaneous involvement of T1, T7, and the right ilium. At the T7 level, the anterior and posterior vertebral elements were involved. These findings closely mimicked spinal malignancies. There was no evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis. A biopsy confirmed tuberculosis and the patient was treated successfully with antituberculosis therapy. It is important to be aware that spinal tuberculosis can mimic spinal malignancy.     

Tuberculosis detected after emergency cesarean section

A 29-year-old woman at 37 weeks of gestation was brought to our hospital as an emergency patient complaining of severe cough, hemoptysis and dyspnea. On arrival, we suspected that she was suffering from bronchial asthma or pulmonary embolism, but were unable to improve her respiratory condition. The decision was made to terminate gestation immediately and an emergency cesarean section was performed under spinal anesthesia. Postoperatively diagnosis of tuberculosis was made. Fortunately, there was no intramural tuberculous infection. She was a nurse. Nurses are twice as likely as the general public to contract tuberculosis. Medical workers must keep in mind that they may be infected with tuberculosis and they could also become the source of infection of tuberculosis. It is important to rule out tuberculosis when a patient, particularly a medical worker, complains of severe cough, hemoptysis and dyspnea.     

Delayed-onset Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection with staphylococcal superinfection after total knee replacement

Infection of a total joint replacement with Mycobacterium tuberculosis is uncommon in North America. This case describes a staphylococcal superinfection that masked an underlying tuberculous infection after total knee replacement and subsequent placement of a cement spacer. The patient had no evidence of M tuberculosis infection elsewhere. The most common explanation for these events is local reactivation of quiescent tuberculosis of the knee joint. The patient was treated successfully with surgical débridement, arthrodesis, and antituberculous medication.     

Gastrointestinal tuberculosis. A case report

We report a case of gastrointestinal manifestation of tuberculosis (TB). A 52 year-old female patient was admitted into another hospital with unspecified gastrointestinal complaints. A computer tomography (CT) and a coloscopy showed a mild stenosis in the ileocecal region. The routine pulmonary X-ray showed a nodule, the cytology of the sputum was positive for tuberculosis. The patient was therefore transferred to our hospital. Following the anti-tuberculostastic treatment, the patient's abdominal condition improved but the symptoms reappeared weeks later. A sonography showed biliary calculus. Three days after endoscopic cholecystectomy the patient was discharged to home care and medical therapy. Four days later, she was admitted again with signs of subileus. Oral gastrografin solved the problem. The patient refused another coloscopy. Another 13 days later the patient was admitted once more with signs of an acute ileus. An emergency laparotomy with resection of the ileocoecal region was performed because of a complete stenosis. The histology showed a gastrointestinal tuberculosis. The patient had a smooth postoperative recovery and was released on the tenth day. She was on anti-TB therapy for 12 months without any complaints. In July 1999 the tuberculostatic treatment was stopped. It has been pointed out in numerous scientific publications that the clinical picture can be untypical and uncharacteristic, so that only the principal integration of TB in the differential diagnosis can allow the correct diagnosis. Surgical therapy should only be performed in emergency cases. In normal cases, medical therapy is the adequate treatment for tuberculosis.     

Aortobifemoral graft infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis: treatment with abscess drainage, debridement, and long-term administration of antibiotic agents

Aortic graft infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis is rare. We report a patient with a Dacron aortobifemoral prosthetic graft infection secondary to tuberculosis. The infection was successfully treated with surgical drainage without removal of the graft, and long-term antimycobacterial medications. A review of the literature contains only 1 other report of tuberculosis graft infection and treatment. We discuss a rare form of aortic graft infection from M tuberculosis and its treatment.     

Tuberculosis of the trachea

Tracheal tuberculosis is an uncommon localized form of tuberculosis with fewer than 150 reported cases in the literature. We report a case of tracheal stenosis caused by tuberculosis in which the diagnosis was suggested by the patient's past medical history. This patient was successfully treated with tracheal resection, adjuvant steroids and anti-tuberculous therapy. This report will review the various types of tuberculosis of the trachea and their clinical features in addition to discussing the different available treatment modalities.     

Pulmonary tuberculosis after gastric resection

Reviewing the charts of tuberculosis patients during a span of seventeen years, we found a large number of gastrectomized patients. In our general hospital population, the incidence of tuberculosis was 3.2 per cent. Among the gastrectomized patients, the percentage of tuberculosis was 6.3 per cent. Of our tuberculosis patients 1.9 per cent had gastrectomy, whereas of our general population 0.67 per cent had gastrectomy. We were unable to arrive at any definite conclusions regarding the causative relationship between gastrectomy and tuberculosis. It is a retrospective study with all the fallacies, but the data do show an extremely significant difference between the incidence of gastrectomy in the general hospital population and the incidence of gastrectomy in histories of patients admitted with tuberculosis. It appears that a patient having gastrectomy runs a considerably greater risk of having tuberculosis in later life than a patient admitted for other reasons.Clinically, we were impressed with the widespread character of the disease in association with the poor nutritional status in the majority of the patients. We, therefore, could not avoid associating the loss of stomach substance with its nutritional function and the development of tuberculosis. As a consequence, we recommend a purified protein derivative test for all patients undergoing gastric surgery. If the test proves to be positive, it is suggested the patient be given a course of isoniazid for one year. In the face of negative purified protein derivative test, we repeat the test at six month intervals. Should a conversion of the purified protein derivative occur, the patient is started on the course of isoniazid therapy.Our current belief is that more conservative methods of gastric surgery, that is, pyloroplasty, vagotomy, or antrectomy, should be substituted for gastrectomy in the treatment of duodenal ulcer disease to preserve a more normal gastric physiologic structure.     

Treatment algorithm in synovial tuberculosis of the hand and wrist: a report of three cases

Three patients with synovial tuberculosis are presented. Involvement was in the hand in one patient, and in the wrist in two patients. None of the patients had pulmonary tuberculosis or a family history of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis treatment was initiated only after histologic verification. The cultures remained negative. The patients received a 12-month course of multidrug chemotherapy for tuberculosis, resulting in symptomatic improvement and healing. There were no recurrences during a follow-up period of 16 to 26 months. Our clinical observations showed that tuberculosis tenosynovitis benefited well from antituberculosis chemotherapy.     

Tuberculosis of the Thyroid Gland: A Case Report

Thyroid tuberculosis is a very rare condition even if the incidence of extrapulmonary forms of tuberculosis has increased. We report the case of a 56-year old female patient with tuberculosis of the thyroid gland and tubercular lymphadenitis of the neck mimicking thyroid malignancy. The diagnosis was established on histological examination after surgery in August 2002. Total thyroidectomy and central neck dissection were performed for very hard euthyroid multinodular goiter and paratracheal bilateral lymphadenopathy. There were no evidence of tubercular involvement of the other organs. The patient underwent combination treatment with antitubercular drugs for 6 months. During the three years follow-up period there was no evidence of disease recurrence.     

Tuberculosis of the thyroid gland: a case report

Thyroid tuberculosis is a very rare condition even if the incidence of extrapulmonary forms of tuberculosis has increased. We report the case of a 56-year old female patient with tuberculosis of the thyroid gland and tubercular lymphadenitis of the neck mimicking thyroid malignancy. The diagnosis was established on histological examination after surgery in August 2002. Total thyroidectomy and central neck dissection were performed for very hard euthyroid multinodular goiter and paratracheal bilateral lymphadenopathy. There were no evidence of tubercular involvement of the other organs. The patient underwent combination treatment with antitubercular drugs for 6 months. During the three years follow-up period there was no evidence of disease recurrence.     

Intradural spinal tuberculosis in the absence of vertebral or meningeal tuberculosis: a case report

We present a patient with spinal intradural tuberculosis in the absence of both vertebral and meningeal tuberculosis. Diagnosis was made based on intra-operative findings and was confirmed by histopathology. Early surgical decompression along with a combination of steroid and antitubercular therapy resulted in a good outcome. At 26-month follow-up, the patient regained bladder control and was able to walk with support. Clinical features, magnetic resonance imaging, and intra-operative findings are described. Pathology and the relevant literature are discussed.     

Abdominal tuberculosis: clinical and therapeutic evaluation

In this paper we present our experience concerning abdominal tuberculosis. The aim of this study is to evaluate various methods and to establish therapeutic approach to patients with abdominal tuberculosis. There were six patients (3 males and 3 females), aged between 22 and 67 years old, such as: 2 patients developed peritoneal tuberculosis, 3 patients developed intestinal tuberculosis and one patient developed mesenteric lymph node tuberculosis. We concluded that early diagnosis is often impossible and laboratory report was non-specific. Because surgical treatment in abdominal tuberculosis was made in complicate forms, we concluded that enterostomy "a minima" is the best therapeutic method.     

Meningeal tuberculosis and renal lithiasis. A case report

Urinary tuberculosis is frequent in Algeria. The discovery of the disease become difficult when one of the three criterium of the diagnostic does not allow a diagnosis of certitude. The authors reported the case of a 44 years-old patient admitted to hospital for tuberculous meningitis recovery from left nephrectomy for urinary lithiasis. The histology does not find specific lesions. Then, no antituberculous treatment is prescribed. The patient has developed renal and meningitis tuberculosis associated with urinary lithiasis. Koch's bacillus is found in the urine. The evolution under medical treatment was excellent. The urinary lithiasis has hided tuberculosis and the discovery of the disease was late.     

A rare cause of anemia due to intestinal tuberculosis in a renal transplant recipient

A renal transplant recipient with stable allograft function presented with massive hemorrhagic diarrhea and severe anemia. No microbial infection could be found in stool cultures. Early colonoscopy showed severe colitis with ulceration. Histological samples confirmed granulomatous inflammation with acid-resistant Ziehl-Neelson-positive microorganisms of mycobacterial type. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of native mucosal biopsies specified the infectious organism as Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. The patient responded well to antimycobacterial therapy and was still asymptomatic after 6 months with a stable graft function. Our case shows that tuberculosis can be a severe clinical problem in transplant recipients. Most of the patients with intestinal tuberculosis, reported to literature, were diagnosed post mortem or after explorative laparotomy and bowel resection. Thus, intestinal tuberculosis should be considered when a transplant recipient shows abdominal symptoms with no clear evidence of another infection. Proper diagnosis and treatment resulted in a beneficial outcome in our patient.     

去利福平方案在肾移植术后结核菌感染中的临床应用

目的 探讨肾移植术后并发结核菌感染的危险因素,及去利福平抗结核方案的治疗效果.方法 回顾性分析9例肾移植术后并发结核病患者的临床资料,研究肾移植术后结核菌感染的发生时间、部位及治疗方法.结果 结核菌感染发生于术后1.5～17个月,其中3例发生于术后3个月内;7例发生于术后1年内,仅2例发生于术后1年以上.发生肺结核7例;结核性胸膜炎1例;中枢神经系统结核1例.对所有患者均采用异胭肼(INH)、左氧氟沙星、乙胺丁醇和吡嗪酰胺的四联方案治疗9～12个月,治疗后所有患者临床症状均消失,其中有5例患者疗程结束时结核病灶吸收,临床治愈,尚有4例患者仍在随访中.结论 肾移植受者是结核菌感染的高发人群;足量、全程的去利福平抗结核治疗方案具有良好的治疗效果.