Case of pulmonary multi-drug resistant tuberculosis with left destroyed lung, treated with pneumonectomy

A 31-year-old woman complained of cough and fever for 2 months. She was admitted to a hospital and was diagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis. She received combination therapy with isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide. As the drug susceptibility test revealed that the isolated strain was multi-drug resistant, the regimen was changed to pyrazinamide, ethionamide, cycloserine, enviomycin, and levofloxacin. The chemotherapy was not effective, so she received pneumonectomy for left destroyed lung. After surgical treatment, her sputa converted to negative for tubercle bacilli. Surgical treatment such as pneumonectomy is considered to be useful in a case of multi-drug resistant pulmonary tuberculosis.