Myocarditis and pericarditis with tamponade associated with disseminated tuberculosis

Tuberculous involvement of the myocardium is relatively rare. Tuberculous pericarditis with tamponade and myocarditis in a young woman with no evidence of immunosuppression and disseminated tuberculosis is described. Three distinct forms of myocardial involvement are recognized: nodular tubercles (tuberculomas) of the myocardium; miliary tubercles of the myocardium; and an uncommon diffuse infiltrative type. The myocardium is involved by a hematogenous route, by lymphatic spread or contiguously from the pericardium. The diagnosis can be made by endomyocardial biopsy if clinical suspicion is strong and echocardiographic findings are suggestive. Antituberculosis drugs may be curative. With an increasing prevalence of tuberculosis, the possibility of potentially lethal myocardial tuberculosis is important to consider.     

Active tuberculosis undiagnosed until autopsy

In this report 21 patients in whom tuberculosis was the primary cause of death, but which was not diagnosed until necropsy, are reviewed. Of the 21 deaths, 11 were due to pulmonary tuberculosis and 10 to miliary tuberculosis. Proper evaluation of the following factors might have led to the correct diagnosis in many of the patients: A family history of tuberculosis, prior pleurisy, a gastrectomy, diabetes mellitus or end-stage renal failure; all can be associated with an increased incidence of tuberculosis. A negative tuberculin skin reaction does not exclude the presence of active tuberculosis. In the search for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the examination of just one or two sputum specimens is not an adequate bacteriologic investigation. A positive gastric smear can have diagnostic importance. Ascitic fluid findings can be characteristic of tuberculous peritonitis. A negative bone marrow aspirate for acid-fast bacilli does not exclude miliary tuberculosis. Significant anemia, high fever and leukopenia increases the possibility of tuberculosis. The persistence and/or progression of lung infiltration, irrespective of supposedly specific antibiotic therapy, strongly suggests tuberculosis. Miliary tuberculosis can present as an adult respiratory distress syndrome. All but one patient in this series had fever. The failure to diminish the pyrexia believed due to specific lung infections with presumably effective antibiotics, and the inability of therapy to control other conditions thought to cause the fever indicate the presence of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis, especially miliary disease, should be considered as a possible etiology of fever of unknown origin.If the diagnosis of tuberculosis is highly suggestive, even without bacteriologic confirmation, a therapeutic trial of antituberculosis drugs should be given.     

Disseminated tuberculosis: a 10-year experience in a medical center

Disseminated tuberculosis remains a diagnostic challenge because the presentations are nonspecific. In the current retrospective study we describe the clinical characteristics and outcome of disseminated tuberculosis. From January 1995 to December 2004, patients with culture-confirmed tuberculosis who fulfilled the criteria for disseminated tuberculosis were selected and their medical records reviewed. Their clinical isolates were genotyped. Of the 3058 patients with culture-confirmed tuberculosis, 164 (5.4%) had disseminated disease; 14.0% of patients had acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The most common radiographic finding was miliary lung lesions (47.0%); 31.1% of patients died at the end of the study. Poor prognostic factors included hypoalbuminemia, hyperbilirubinemia, renal insufficiency, and delayed antituberculosis treatment. Clinical findings suggestive of disseminated tuberculosis were miliary lung lesions, serum ferritin >1000 microg/L, infiltrative liver disease, and adjusted calcium >2.6 mmol/L. Simultaneously performing mycobacterial culture and histopathologic examination of bone marrow biopsy was more sensitive and faster than just performing mycobacterial blood culture in diagnosing disseminated tuberculosis. Of the 64 preserved Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates, 47 (73.4%) were clustered and 27 (42.2%) were Beijing family. Since prognosis was worse in patients with delayed treatment, a high index of suspicion is required, especially in those with clinical findings suggestive of disseminated tuberculosis.     

Miliary sarcoidosis following miliary tuberculosis

A patient who presented with a miliary radiographic pattern due to tuberculosis and later with a similar miliary pattern due to sarcoidosis is described. The patient, a 47-year-old man, was admitted to the hospital due to coughing, weakness, weight loss and an abnormal chest radiograph with a miliary pattern. A gastric fluid culture was positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and he was treated appropriately. He showed complete clinical and radiological remission. One year later he presented with a dry cough and a similar miliary pattern on the chest roentgenogram. Lung biopsy taken by thoracoscopy revealed sarcoidosis. The patient had a complete remission with corticosteroids. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing a miliary pattern as presenting radiological sign in a patient with tuberculosis who subsequently developed a new miliary pattern due to sarcoidosis.     

Miliary tuberculosis: new insights into an old disease

Miliary tuberculosis is a potentially lethal form of tuberculosis resulting from massive lymphohaematogeneous dissemination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli. The emergence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and widespread use of immunosuppressive drugs has changed the epidemiology of miliary tuberculosis. Impaired cell-mediated immunity underlies the disease's development. Clinical manifestations are non-specific and typical chest radiographic findings may not be seen until late in the course of the disease. Atypical presentations--eg, cryptic miliary tuberculosis and acute respiratory distress syndrome--often delay the diagnosis. Several laboratory abnormalities with prognostic and therapeutic implications have been described, including pulmonary function and gas exchange impairment. Isolation of M tuberculosis from sputum, body fluids, or biopsy specimens, application of molecular methods such as PCR, and histopathological examination of tissue biopsy specimens are useful for the confirmation of diagnosis. Although response to first-line antituberculosis drugs is good, evidence regarding optimum duration of treatment is lacking and the role of adjunctive corticosteroid treatment is unclear.     

A case of miliary tuberculosis with cutaneous lesion

Miliary tuberculosis associated with cutaneous lesion has been rarely reported. We report a case of miliary tuberculosis in whom the cutaneous lesion was confirmed as tuberculosis by skin biopsy and bacterial examination. A 46-year-old man was admitted because of cough, fever, sore throat and abnormal shadow on the chest X-ray. Physical examination revealed an emaciated man with two ulcerous lesions overlying yellowed crust on the chest wall and fine crackles on the left side of the lung. Laboratory workup revealed a white blood cell count of 10,000 with 15% lymphocytes and positive CRP. Chest X-ray film showed the infiltration with cavity formation in left upper lung field and nodular dissemination. His tuberculin reaction was negative on admission. Sputum, urine and secrete from cutaneous lesion were positive for the acid-fast bacilli and the culture grew Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Examination of the skin biopsy specimen and bone marrow aspiration showed Langhans giant cells around necrotic lesion; therefore the diagnosis of miliary tuberculosis was made. After an initiation of antituberculosis therapy with combined regimen composed of streptomycin (SM), isoniazid (INH), ethambutol (EB) and rifampicin (RFP), this patient improved significantly. Although the case report of miliary tuberculosis tends to increase recently, the report of cutaneous lesion is relatively rare in association with miliary tuberculosis. We discussed this subject with reference to the literatures.     

Fiberbronchoscopy in smear-negative miliary tuberculosis

Twenty-two patients with smear-negative miliary tuberculosis underwent fiberbronchoscopy and brush smears; bronchial aspirates and transbronchial lung biopsy specimens were obtained. A definite diagnosis of tuberculosis was made in 16 (73 percent) patients. A rapid diagnosis was established in 14 of these 16 patients either from brush smears alone (three) or bronchial aspirate smear alone (one) or exclusively by histopathologic study of biopsy specimens (seven). Both brush smears and biopsy histopathology results provided the diagnosis in three patients. Bronchial aspirate culture was the only positive specimen in two patients. No serious complication resulted from the procedure. Our experience substantiates previous reports of the value and safety of fiberbronchoscopy in the rapid diagnosis of smear-negative miliary tuberculosis.     

Unusual cutaneous manifestations of miliary tuberculosis.

Cutaneous manifestations of miliary tuberculosis are extremely rare. We describe a 62-year-old woman with leukopenia who developed infiltrated dermal-hypodermal and ulcerative cutaneous lesions during the course of miliary tuberculosis. Miliary tuberculosis was diagnosed when Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli were isolated by cultures of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and blood and when acid-fast bacilli were detected on histopathologic examination of hepatic, pulmonary, and cutaneous biopsy specimens. With the increasing incidence of immunocompromised patients, unusual presentations of tuberculosis may be observed more often. Acute miliary tuberculosis of the skin is an exceptional manifestation that is due to acute hematogenous dissemination of M. tuberculosis to the skin. We describe a patient who had unusual cutaneous manifestations of miliary tuberculosis.     

Talcose intravasculaire pulmonaire : à propos d’un cas

Introduction

Pulmonary intravascular talcosis is a rare condition occurring in intravenous drug users injecting oral medications. Talc results in a foreign-body granulomatous reaction giving a radiological haematogenic miliary appearance mimicking miliary tuberculosis. Drug users represent a population at risk for both these conditions and their distinction may be challenging.

Liver tuberculosis in an HIV patient: diagnosis and management

Hepatic involvement is common in miliary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis but is usually clinically silent. Therefore, it is rarely diagnosed. We report the case of a patient that presented with prolonged fever and hepatomegaly. Liver biopsy revealed non-necrotizing granulomas that led in turn to the diagnosis of generalized tuberculosis and HIV infection. The patient reported an old untreated tuberculosis and depression of the immune system provoked the reactivation of this old tuberculosis focus. We describe the clinical course of the disease and the challenges associated with the complexity of the treatment. Diagnosis of hepatic tuberculosis requires a high degree of suspicion especially in AIDS patients who show atypical presentations. However, it is a potential curable disease and good results have been obtained with the four drug regimen.     

A case of miliary tuberculosis complicated by acute respiratory failure after bronchofiberscopy]

A 79-year-old man presented with persistent nonproductive cough and high fever. The chest radiograph showed bilateral miliary shadows. We performed bronchoalveolar lavage and transbronchial lung biopsy to assist diagnosis. Severe dyspnea developed after the bronchofiberscopy, when the chest radiograph revealed bilateral ground-glass shadows and the oxygen saturation in the room air fell to 60%. It was suspected that the patient had acute respiratory distress syndrome, so that methylprednisolone was given intravenously at a dose of 250 mg daily for 3 days, which resulted in a reduction in ground glass shadows and an improvement in oxygen saturation. We diagnosed miliary tuberculosis because the transbronchial lung biopsy specimen showed caseous granuloma and the PCR test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was positive. The patient was cured with antituberculosis chemotherapy.     

A case of apyretic miliary tuberculosis which was discovered accidentally

A 78 year-old female was referred to our hospital, because diffuse miliary shadows in bilateral lung fields were discovered during upper G.I. series. She did not complain of fever or display any chest symptoms. Her laboratory data on admission revealed mild hypoxemia and high serum CA 19-9. The transbronchial lung biopsy specimen proved epithelioid cell granulomas. M. tuberculosis was observed on culture from the sputa, urine and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. She was diagnosed to have miliary tuberculosis, and antituberculous drugs were administered. After the antituberculous therapy, the diffuse miliary shadows on the chest X-ray diminished gradually, and the laboratory data improved. No elevation in the body temperature was seen during the entire clinical course. Though it is known that miliary tuberculosis in elderly patients is often atypical and has mild symptoms, miliary tuberculosis without fever is very rare.     

Peritoneoscopy in the diagnosis of tuberculous peritonitis

Seventy-four patients with tuberculous peritonitis were examined by peritoneoscopy (laparoscopy). The characteristic features were uniform miliary tubercles studding the visceral and parietal peritoneum together with numerous adhesions between bowel loops, liver capsule, and abdominal walls. Guided biopsy yielded a definitive diagnosis in 56 cases. Special precautions are urged to avoid an increased risk of complications by peritoneoscopy and biopsy in tuberculous peritonitis.     

Clinicopathological study of miliary tuberculosis in patients with hematologic disease

Seven cases of miliary tuberculosis in patients with hematologic disease were analyzed clinicopathologically. Mean age of the patients was 65 years, and the hematologic diseases were CML, AML, ALL, MDS and malignant lymphoma. Diabetes mellitus was present as a complication in three patients. Miliary tuberculosis was found in 5 cases during the first admission to our hospital owing to hematologic problems. In 4 of 6 cases, fever had started more than two months before admission, consequently, the tuberculosis probably began about that time. After admission, chemotherapy was administered in 5 cases, and steroid in 6 cases for hematologic disease. The mean total quantity of steroid administered was 2,134 mg of prednisolone and average treatment duration was 69 days. The chest roentgenographic shadow was so atypical that miliary tuberculosis was suspected in only one case. The initial chest roentgenogram showed hilar and mediastinal lymph node swelling as well as the shadow of pulmonary tuberculosis in two cases. It was thought that the hilar and mediastinal lymph node swelling could be explained by primary complex, although the patients were of advanced age, or by "secondary complex" reported by Terplan, K in 1940. The diagnosis of tuberculosis was made in two patients before their death by smear of aspirated fluid of cervical lymph node and by bone marrow cell block in one patients, and by pathological examination of mediastinal lymph node biopsy in the other patients. Tubercles were found from bone marrow cell block in 2 out of 5 patients and from bone marrow biopsy in 1 out of 3 patients, but the positive results were reported in 2 patients following death. Smears of sputum, gastric juice, urine, spinal fluid and pleural effusion were negative in all cases. One patient diagnosed as miliary tuberculosis also had pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. This case was treated with antituberculosis drugs for 20 days without improvement. Another patient diagnosed as miliary tuberculosis improved under treatment with antituberculosis drugs, but died of cytomegalovirus pneumonia. Autopsy in 5 cases revealed non-reactive miliary tuberculosis, and pulmonary hemorrhage probably due to DIC was present as a complication in two cases. In these cases, severe immunosuppression, which is a major precipitating factor of miliary tuberculosis, is thought to be induced by hematologic disease itself, chemotherapy, steroid or other underlying disease such as diabetes mellitus. Miliary tuberculosis in such compromised host is cryptic and progresses rapidly. Consequently, early diagnosis is very important. Retrospectively, the unexplained pyrexia was most important to suspect tuberculosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

成人血行播散性肺结核202例临床及影像分析

目的通过对血行播散性肺结核临床资料的分析,提高对该病的认识。方法回顾性分析1998—2008年收治的成人血行播散性肺结核202例的临床资料、影像学特点、误诊情况及治疗反应。结果（1）中青年患者占80.2%, 老年患者占19.8%。（2）痰涂片查抗酸杆菌（AFB)阳性率为20.7%;31例AFB阴性患者中35.5%纤维支气管镜检抗酸杆菌阳性。（3）12.9%X线胸片早期表现为肺间质磨玻璃样改变,51.5%表现为大小、密度、分布均匀的粟粒结节。（4）胸部高分辨CT显示55.0%急性血行播散型表现双肺弥漫分布的大小、密度均匀的粟粒结节;另48例亚急性和慢性血行播散性肺结核表现以上中肺野为主的3～7mm大小、密度及分布不均匀的结节。46.8%的肺野内可见斑片、结节、纤维条索状影;43.1%伴纵隔和/或肺门淋巴结肿大。（5）20例活组织检查60%病理阳性。 （6）44.6%合并肺外结核,常见于脑膜、浆膜腔、淋巴结、脑、肝、脾、骨等。（7）42.1%入院前被误诊为其他疾病。（8）除8例外其余患者抗结核治疗后体温在3d到12周内降至正常。（9）79.7%在抗结核治疗2个月后胸片显示病灶不同程度吸收。结论痰涂片、HRCT、纤维支气管镜及器官组织活检是早期诊断的关键。     

Miliary Tuberculosis with Hemophagocytosis in a Two Months Old Infant

A two months old male infant, presented with fever, hepatosplenomegaly and pancytopenia. On bone marrow aspirate, hemophagocytosis was noted. Trephine biopsy showed epithelioid granulomas. ZN stain AFB detected, which confirmed the diagnosis of miliary tuberculosis. This case highlights the rare association of hemophagocytic syndrome with tuberculosis in infancy.     

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections after renal transplantation

The incidence of tuberculosis was found to be 5.8% (16/274) in 274 kidney graft recipients in our centre between 1986 and 1998. The kidney recipients were evaluated retrospectively. A total of 51 recipients received isoniazid prophylaxis for 6 months. The prevalence of tuberculosis was found similar (6% vs. 8.8%, p = 0.15) between recipients with prophylaxis and no prophylaxis. Eight patients were recipients of cadaveric donor kidneys and 8 were recipients of living donor kidneys. Lungs were the most frequently affected site, as in the normal population. M. tuberculosis grew in 7 patients. In 5 patients, M. tuberculosis was also detected on direct microscopy and polymerase chain reaction. In 4 patients, diagnosis was made on clinical grounds and later confirmed by positive response to therapy. In 8 patients, invasive procedures were performed for diagnosis. Five patients had miliary tuberculosis at the time of diagnosis. In 3 patients dissemination occurred during follow-up. Nine patients responded to anti-tuberculous therapy while still preserving their graft function, 1 patient rejected the graft while under treatment and returned to haemodialysis. Five patients (31%) died. Since the risk of dissemination of tuberculosis is high in these patients, anti-tuberculous therapy should be started whenever clinical findings suggestive of tuberculosis are present, even in the absence of any microbiological and/or histological evidence.     

Case of tuberculous psoas abscess successfully treated with surgery during antituberculosis therapy for miliary tuberculosis

A case of tuberculous psoas abscess complicated during antituberculosis therapy for miliary tuberculosis and successfully treated with surgery was reported. A 20-year-old man visited our hospital because of fever lasting for 3 months. Chest radiography showed miliary nodules in both lungs and transbronchial lung biopsy revealed granuloma. Magnetic resonance imaging of the head showed small lesions in the brain. Computed tomography of the abdomen showed an enlarged paraaortic lymph node and a nodule in the spleen. Needle biopsy of the lymph node revealed necrotic tissue. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was not isolated; however, miliary tuberculosis was highly suspected based on clinical and radiographic findings. Once antituberculosis therapy was initiated with isoniazid, rifampicin, streptomycin, and pyrazinamide, the fever subsided. In spite of improvement of general radiographic findings, a new abscess was found in the right psoas major muscle after 8 months of therapy by computed tomography. A sample of the abscess showed a positive smear, negative culture, and positive PCR test for M. tuberculosis. Although antituberculosis therapy continued for another 6 months, the abscess enlarged to 7 cm and new retroperitoneal lymph nodes also appeared. Surgical drainage and curettage of the abscess was performed. Intra- and post-operative specimens were negative for bacteria, fungi, and M. tuberculosis. The patient was treated with isoniazid, rifampicin, and ethambutol for one year postoperatively. The disease disappeared without any evidence of relapse for 2.5 years after surgery.     

A case of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia during treatment for miliary tuberculosis

A 30-year old man of Myanmar origin was admitted to our hospital because of productive cough, anorexia, weight loss and fever. Sputum smear was strongly positive for M. tuberculosis (Gaffky 6) and sputum culture proved M. tuberculosis. Caseous necrosis with Langhans giant cells was observed in the biopsied specimens of the liver and bone marrow. He was diagnosed as miliary tuberculosis. Treatment with combined use of isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol and streptomycin was started. After one month, his cough resolved, fever subsided and chest X-ray findings improved. Two months later, non-productive cough and fever recurred. Chest radiograph and computed tomographic scan of the chest revealed diffuse ground-glass opacity. Specimens taken by transbronchial biopsy showed pneumocystis carinii in alveoli. Pulsed use of methyprednisolone with Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was started. The symptoms and chest X-ray findings disappeared and he recovered uneventfully. Tests for HIV infection were negative. Anti-HTLV antibody was negative. There were no other suggestive evidences of immune suppression. CD4+T cell count was low, when Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia occurred. The relation between miliary tuberculosis, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and CD4-T lymphocytopenia has remained unelucidated.     

Transbronchial Cryobiopsy for Miliary Tuberculosis Mimicking Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis

Miliary tuberculosis is a potentially lethal type of tuberculosis that results from the hematogenous dissemination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli. We herein describe the case of a 34-year-old man that presented with a one-month history of cough and fever, while his sputum smear results were negative. Chest computed tomography revealed bilateral centrilobular ground-glass opacification (GGO), suggestive of hypersensitivity pneumonitis; thus, bronchoscopy was performed. Cryobiopsy specimens revealed necrotic granulomas. A re-examination of sputum after bronchoscopy identified Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and miliary tuberculosis was diagnosed. A cryobiopsy might be useful for diagnosing miliary tuberculosis pathologically, particularly when miliary nodules may be masked by GGO.