Biliary tract obstruction due to tuberculous adenitis

A 25 year old woman presented with constitutional symptoms and biochemical evidence of biliary tract obstruction. A mass in the region of the head of the pancreas was detected and she underwent laparotomy which revealed isolated tuberculous adenitis of peripancreatic lymph nodes. Complete recovery resulted following the administration of isoniazid and ethambutal.     

Four cases of simultaneous discovery of familial tuberculous infection

Index case is a 17-year-old boy who was admitted to our hospital with pleurisy and a minimal pulmonary lesion, and tubercle bacilli were recovered from pleural fluid. A diagnosis of primary tuberculosis was made based on the onset by pleurisy and the existence of hilar and mediastinal lymph node swelling. On the same day, a 76-year-old man, grandfather of the index case was admitted for precise examination of suspected extensive pneumonia. Tubercle bacilli were also isolated from the pus of infected bulla obtained by puncture. Neither of these two cases, however, seemed to be the source of the familial tuberculous infection because of such sudden onset of the disease as pleurisy and pneumonia. Two months later, a 46-year-old man, father of the index case was examined at our hospital. He was considered to be the source of the familial infection because he was diagnosed as tuberculosis with positive smear and a thick wall cavity (3.2 cm in diameter) on the left apex, and abnormal shadow was detected on his chest X-ray already two years ago. The fourth case was a mother of the index case, and wife of the third case, whose chest radiography revealed an infiltrative shadow on the right apex by a family contacts examination. Though tubercle bacilli were not isolated from her sputum, pulmonary lesions considered to be tuberculosis due to their typical location and nature, a positive PPD skin test, and the response to antituberculous drugs.     

Diagnosis and management of biliary obstruction due to periportal tuberculous adenitis

Biliary obstruction due to periportal tuberculous adenitis is a rare condition which is difficult to diagnose and treat. We describe two patients presenting with obstructive jaundice due to periportal tuberculous adenitis managed by two different approaches. In one patient the diagnosis was made after laparotomy and lymph node biopsy, and segment III biliary enteric bypass was performed with good relief of obstruction. In another patient the diagnosis was established by laparoscopy and the patient was successfully managed conservatively with percutaneous biliary drainage and antituberculous treatment. The different approaches of diagnosis and management of this rare condition are discussed.     

Calcinosis of the arterial ligament and tuberculous adenitis of the aortic window in children: computerized tomography

The paper provides a retrospective analysis of scans of chest computed tomography (CT) in children who had different forms of intrathoracic or were tuberculin positive. The children had no cardiovascular diseases or clinical signs of Botallo's duct patency. CT was performed without contrast reinforcement. Arterial ligament calcification (ALC) was detected in 16 children, of them 9 had concurrently tuberculous adenopathy of several groups, as well as aortic window nodes being in 2. ALC was the only respiratory alteration in 7 children. The calcified aortic ligament was misinterpreted as the calcified lymph node of the aortic window.     

Two cases of tuberculous uveitis

Uveitis has many etiologies, but tuberculous uveitis is rare. We herein report 2 cases of uveitis due to tuberculosis infection. The first case was a 28-year-old man who was showed abnormal shadows in the chest radiographic examination performed in search of the etiology of uveitis. Computed tomography (CT) of the chest revealed hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy, small nodules, and consolidation, with a small cavity in the right upper lobe. An ulcerated nodule in the truncus intermedius and stenosis of the right middle lobe bronchus were found on bronchoscopy. The biopsy of the nodule in the truncus intermedius showed a small granuloma containing giant cells, consistent with mycobacterial infection. The culture of bronchial washings from the right upper lobe grew Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, tuberculous lymphadenitis, bronchial tuberculosis, and tuberculous uveitis was made. The patient was treated with antituberculosis drugs and his disease, including uveitis, improved. The second case was a 36-year-old man who presented with right hemiparesis, dysarthria, and visual loss of the left eye. He was diagnosed with neuro-Sweet disease causing optic neuritis and visual loss. His chest CT showed a nodule with centrilobular opacities in the left lower lobe that suggested mycobacterial infection. PCR of the bronchial washing from the left lower lobe was positive for M.tuberculosis and the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis was established. Treatment with antituberculosis drugs and corticosteroids was initiated and his pulmonary lesion improved. However, bilateral tuberculous uveitis developed 15 days after initiation of the treatment. The uveitis gradually deteriorated thereafter despite continuation of antituberculosis therapy. Photocoagulation finally halted the disease progression. In both patients with uveitis presented here, chest radiographs and CT scans were important in determining the etiology of the uveitis. It is difficult to find the etiology of uveitis, and general examinations including the lungs are helpful to pinpoint tuberculosis as the etiology of uveitis. As tuberculous uveitis is sometimes asymptomatic and resistant to treatment, ophthalmological examination is recommended for patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.     

结核性脑膜炎二例

例1,男性,30岁。发热、咳嗽、胸闷、头痛20ｄ,精神障碍1ｄ。查体:体温38.5℃,神志模糊,颈强直,克氏征(+),布氏征(+)。下颌离胸可容三横指。双肺呼吸音低。心律整齐,无杂音。四肢腱反射减弱,肌力肌张力正常,病理反射()。入院后腰穿:脑压30ｍｍＨｇ,全程脑脊液浅红,ＲＢＣ120×106/Ｌ,边缘不整的ＲＢＣ占95%,ＷＢＣ125×106/Ｌ,其中单核细胞0.78,中性0.22。蛋白质2.88ｇ/Ｌ,糖0.29ｍｍｏｌ/Ｌ,氯化物110ｍｍｏｌ/Ｌ。涂片未找到抗酸杆菌。Ｘ线示双肺散在对称性小斑点状粟粒状阴影。最后诊断:结核性脑膜炎、急性粟粒型肺结核。例2,女性,38岁。…     

Evaluating 82 cases of tuberculous meningitis

Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is not the most common but the most serious clinical form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Serious complications resulting from difficulties in diagnosis and treatment of the disease makes it an important health problem. In our study, 82 patients with TBM, followed up in our clinic between January 1998-December 2002, are evaluated with their clinical and laboratory properties. 52% of our patients were females, 48% were males and their ages ranged from 15 to 70 with a mean of 32 years. The diagnosis was based on patients' history, clinical and laboratory properties, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings and radiographic findings. 59% of our patients were grade II clinically, 29% were grade I, and 23% were grade III. Mostly observed complaints were headache (87%) and nausea-vomiting (63%) and fever (45%) and mostly seen physical findings were stiff neck (70%), alterations in consciousness (57%). Pleocytosis in CSF was detected in 94%, low CSF glucose level in 87%, and elevated CSF protein level in 82% of the patients. From CSF samples of 40 patients, out of total 82, Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated on Loewenstein-Jensen medium (49%). Nineteen patients had tuberculomas, 13 had basal meningitis, and 11 had hydrocephalus on cranial radiographic studies. 28% had miliary pattern and 26% had active infiltration and cavities on chest roentgenogram. A four-drug antituberculous regimen was administered for 88% of the patients and dexamethasone treatment was administered for 75%; 56 (68.3%) patients recovered from the illness, 14 (17%) patients had slight and 4 (4.9%) patients had serious neurological sequeales and 8 (9.8%) patients died in spite of tuberculous therapy. As a conclusion, TBM is an infectious disease with high morbidity and mortality rates. Various prognosis patterns may be observed according to the clinical grade of the patient on application. When suspected, an early diagnosis and early treatment of the disease are the most important factors which effect complication and mortality rates.     

Dieulafoy病四例

Dieulafoy病是临床上引起严重上消化道出血的少见病因之一.我院1994～1996年3年中收住因大量呕血和(或)黑便,经胃镜及手术诊断Dieulafoy病4例.现将临床资料分析如下.     

结核性胸膜炎118例治疗体会

近年来由于耐药结核菌的产生与扩散，结核病发病率在全球范围内有所回升，是一严重的公共卫生问题。会东县疾病预防控制中心结防科1998—2007年收治118例结核性渗出性胸膜炎，现对其进行回顾性分析，报告如下。     

Evaluation of 105 cases with tuberculous pleurisy

Tuberculous pleurisy has still importance in the group of exudative pleurisy. In this study we aimed to evaluate clinical, radiological, biochemical, bacteriological and histopathological findings of 105 cases with tuberculous pleurisy retrospectively, between January 1999 and December 2002. Female/male ratio was approximately 1/9 and mean age was 32.6 (range: 15-68). The common symptoms were chest pain (75.2%), cough (54.3%) and dyspnea (47.6%). In 17% cases parenchymal lesions were seen in the chest radiography while parenchymal lesions were found 52% of patients by computed tomography. Adenosine deaminase levels in pleural fluid were high in 80% of cases. PPD reactions was found positive in 84.7% of case. Sputum was studied in 52 cases. In 6 (11.5%) patients both ARB and culture were positive but in 4 (7.7%) patients was only culture positive. Pleural fluid ARB examination of all patients was negative whereas culture was positive only in 5 (5%) of patients. In two patients pleural biopsy material culture was positive for ARB. Cytological examination of pleural fluid revealed lymphocyte predominance in 81 (81%) of cases. Eighty one patients had pleural biopsy and pathologic evaluation revealed tuberculosis in 59 (73%) of them. At the end of the treatment 24 (23%) patients had pleural thickening. Pleural fluid LDH level of the patients with pleural thickening was higher than the other patients significantly (p=0.024). It is concluded that, pleural biopsy is the most effective diagnostic method for the tuberculous pleurisy and in the patient with elevated pleural LDH level, pleural thickening seems more.