[Enigmatic evolution of an association of pulmonary tuberculosis and amyloidosis]. / Évolution énigmatique d'une association de tuberculose et d'amylose pulmonaire.

INTRODUCTION: Amyloidosis is characterized by tissue deposits of amyloid material. Secondary amyloidosis can occur as a sequel to pulmonary tuberculosis over a relatively long period. However, this was not the case with our patient. Subsequently we conducted a literature review to try to explain the unusual course of AL amyloidosis in our patient. CASE REPORT: A 36- year-old patient was admitted to our department for investigation of haemoptysis. A diagnosis of primary pulmonary tuberculosis was made and antituberculous treatment was started. On the second day of treatment, a haematoma appeared on the sole of the right foot, which spread down to the toes during the following days. Renal investigations showed a 24h proteinuria of 9 g/L and serum protein electrophoresis revealed an albumin level of 11.8 g/L. A diagnosis of nephrotic syndrome was made. A renal biopsy was indicated but this was not possible on account of a marked worsening of the patient's condition after 14 days of treatment. The patient's level of consciousness deteriorated and he was transferred to the intensive care unit for ventilation. He died 48 hours later. Post-mortem histological examination of pulmonary and cutaneous tissue revealed AL amyloid deposits. CONCLUSION: In view of the association of active pulmonary tuberculosis and a pulmonary localisation of amyloidosis, a causal relationship is not definite. Coexistence of active pulmonary tuberculosis and primary amyloidosis must also be considered, particularly as the immunohistochemical characterisation revealed AL amyloidosis.

[Hypersensitivity reactions to antituberculous therapy]. / Manifestations d'hypersensibilité aux antituberculeux.

INTRODUCTION: Hypersensitivity reactions to antituberculous drugs pose both a diagnostic and a therapeutic problem. This work aims to study the frequency of allergic reactions to antituberculous drugs, their clinical presentations and the diagnostic approach required. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study covered the period from January 1990 to June 2008 at the Ibn Nafis Pulmonary Department of Abderrahmen Mami Hospital in Ariana. It dealt with 30 in-patients who experienced an allergic reaction to antituberculous drugs. RESULTS: Cutaneous manifestations were the most frequent (80% of cases), predominantly urticarial. Thrombocytopenia was noted in two cases, anaphylactic shock in three cases, a systemic toxidermia in two cases and renal failure in one patient. Pyrazinamide was implicated in most cases (28%) when only one drug was considered to be responsible for the reaction. Interrupting either one drug or the whole treatment was necessary to define the cause of the reaction. The clinical evolution of hypersensitivity signs was favorable in all cases following definitive withdrawal of the responsible drug. Complete recovery from tuberculosis occurred in all cases. CONCLUSION: Close monitoring of patients on antituberculous treatment is required to detect the onset of any allergic reaction and ensure an adequate compliance with treatment.

[Tuberculosis in patients with asthma]. / Asthme et tuberculose: association bénéfique ou maléfique?

INTRODUCTION: The association of asthma and tuberculosis is rare but may raise particular issues around patient management. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical, therapeutic and progress of this association. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We describe a retrospective study, which included seven asthmatic patients hospitalized for pulmonary tuberculosis during the period between June 2001 and June 2006. RESULTS: Five men and two women were included. Mean age was 37 years. Two patients had mild asthma, four had moderate asthma and one had severe and corticosteroid-dependant asthma. Only four patients had controlled asthma when tuberculosis diagnosis was established. Asthma treatment was based on inhaled corticoids and long-acting beta-2-agonists. During antituberculosis treatment two patients developed near fatal asthma. Long-term stable asthma control was achieved over a time course of 3 to 8 years. CONCLUSION: The association of asthma and tuberculosis can lead to potential therapeutic difficulties because of pharmacologic interactions between antituberculosis therapies and treatments for asthma treatment. In addition asthma following treatment for tuberculosis appears to be well controlled.

[Effect of tobacco smoking on pulmonary tuberculosis]. / Effet du tabagisme sur la tuberculose pulmonaire.

Tobacco increases the risk of pulmonary infection, especially tuberculosis. We try by this study to analyse this action. It's a comparative study between two groups of patients hospitalized in our department between January 2006 and June 2008. The first group was made of 30 smokers patients hospitalized because of confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis. The second group consists of 30 non smokers patients and also hospitalized because of confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis. Delay of diagnosis was longer in the group of smokers (3, 1 +/- 3 months versus 2 +/- 1 month with p = 0.039). The most frequent symptoms in both groups were cough and loss of weight. The biological investigations showed a high level of white blood cells with predominance of neutrophil cells especially in smokers (p = 0.024). Chest X ray showed essentially nodules in both groups. These nodules were bilateral in smokers (P = 0.045). Evolution after antituberculosis treatment was favourable for all patients. A delay of recovery (time between symptoms and recovery) was longer in smokers than in non smoker patients (p = 0.043). Pulmonary Sequels such as dyspnoea (p = 0.016) and fibrosis (p = 0.041) were most frequent in smokers. No patients had tuberculosis relapse. Tobacco may delay the recovery of pulmonary tuberculosis and may induce pulmonary sequels in spite of correctly antituberculosis treatment.

Multiple myeloma presenting with multiple thoracic manifestations.

Multiple myeloma is a malignant proliferation of plasma cells that affects mainly bone marrow but may also involve other organs as well. We report thoracic involvement in the form of left-sided pleural effusion, osseous lesions, bronchial infiltration, and mediastinal lymphadenopathy in a 61-year-old woman, non-smoker presented with chest pain, dyspnoea, cough and deterioration in general health over the preceding seven months. Immunoelectrophoresis and immunofixation showed raised kappa-light chain immunoglobulin G (IgG) in serum and pleural fluid. Bronchial and pleural biopsies documented myelomatous infiltration and bone marrow aspirate revealed extensive plasma cell infiltration. At eight months, following the fourth cycle of melphalan, endoxan and prednisone based chemotherapy, the patient died.

[Pleural empyema revealing osteopoikilosis]. / Pleurésie purulente révélatrice d'une ostéopoecilie.

INTRODUCTION: Osteopoikilosis is a rare, inherited and usually asymptomatic sclerosing bone dysplasia of unknown etiology which predominantly involves the appendicular and rarely the axial skeleton. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 24 year old man who was hospitalized for pleural empyema and treated with antibiotics for six weeks in addition to pleural evacuation and physiotherapy. The diagnosis of osteopoikilosis associated with the pleural empyema was made on the radiological findings. In fact the chest X-Ray showed spherical areas of increased bone density in both humeral epiphyses. In order to explore these bone abnormalities further investigations were performed, including red and white blood cell counts, sedimentation rate and protein electrophoresis. There were no biological abnormalities. Radiography of the whole skeleton showed disseminated sclerotic lesions in the pelvis and the metacarpal and carpal bones of both hands. A neoplastic aetiology was excluded. In the light of these investigations, the diagnosis of osteopoikilosis was established. CONCLUSION: Widespread osteopoikilosis can be revealed on chest radiography.

[Echinococcosis of the rib with epidural extension]. / Kyste hydatique costovertébral : pathologie bénigne ou maligne ?

Osseous hydatidosis, especially when located in the rib, is a very rare disease. Less than 50 cases of costal echinococcosis have been reported in the literature to date. The authors report a case of echinococcosis of the rib with epidural extension in a 76-year-old patient presenting paraparesis. In addition, the patient presented a large posterior and thoracic soft tissue mass measuring about 30 centimetres in diameter. A chest x-ray, a CT thoracic scan and an MRI of the dorsal spine were performed. The imaging suggested echinococcosis of the rib with epidural extension. The cyst was completely resected. Histopathology of the resected specimen confirmed the diagnosis of echinococcosis. The patient died due to postoperative complications. Accurate presurgical diagnosis allows for appropriate management and helps eradicate the disease. This also prevents the dissemination of parasites and further complications.

[Broncholithiasis]. / Broncholithiase.

INTRODUCTION: Broncholithiasis is defined as the presence of calcified material in the bronchial lumen. The aim of our work was to study the clinical, radiological and therapeutic aspects of broncholithiasis. OBSERVATIONS: We report the histories of 6 patients identified over 14 years (1990-2004). They included 4 men and 2 women with an average age of 50 years. A past history of pulmonary tuberculosis was found in 2 cases. The presenting symptom was haemoptysis in 4 patients. Fibreoptic bronchoscopy was performed in all patients and broncholiths were found in two. Thoracic CT scan was performed in 5 patients and in 3 showed hilar and parenchymal calcification, suggesting the diagnosis of broncholithiasis. The diagnosis was confirmed in 2 patients by bronchoscopy, in 2 others by surgical biopsy and in the remaining 2 by the CT appearances. Three patients were operated on: 2 for diagnosis and the third for haemostasis. Pulmonary tuberculosis was discovered in 2 patients, one by culture and the other by surgical biopsy. The outcome was satisfactory in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: Broncholithiasis presents a problem of differential diagnosis from other pulmonary pathologies on account of misleading clinical, endoscopic and radiological features.

[Pleural effusion revealing multiple myeloma]. / Pleurésie révélatrice de myélome multiple.

Pleural effusion is rarely observed in multiple myeloma, its frequence is estimated at 6%, and its myelomatous origin occurs in only 1% of the cases. It is exceptionally the first sign of multiple myeloma. We report two cases of IgA and IgG multiple myeloma revealed by pleural effusion. The first case was a 61-year-old woman who developed pleural effusion with a bone endobronchial and pericardial location of multiple myeloma; the second case was a 65-year-old man who had isolated pleural effusion. These pleural effusions were found to be caused by myeloma and were verified by the presence of the same monoclonal immunoglobulin in both plasma and pleural liquid. Atypical plasma cells were found in the pleural fluid.

[Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies positivity in a case of idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis]. / Positivité des anticorps anti-cytoplasme des polynucléaires neutrophiles au cours d'une hémosidérose pulmonaire idiopathique.

Idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis is a rare disease of unknown etiopathogeny which is characterized by hemoptysis due to alveolar haemorrhage. We report the case of a 16 years-old girl with idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis, diagnosed through clinical, radiological, cytological and histopathological data. The finding of myeloperoxydase-anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) positivity led us to suspect an associated vasculitis which was not further demonstrated.

[Costo-vertebral hydatid disease: the role of MRI]. / Hydatidose costo-vertébrale: intérêt de l'IRM.

INTRODUCTION: Hydatid disease of bone is very rare accounting for 0.5% - 3% of all localisations. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a woman of 30 years who presented with posterior chest pain. The chest radiograph showed an extra-pulmonary mass associated with a lytic rib lesion. Thoracic ultrasound revealed a multiloculated soft tissue and fluid mass. CT scan showed a fluid filled costo-vertebral cyst. MRI identified extension into the spinal canal. Pathological examination of the surgically resected material confirmed the diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: This observation emphasises the role of MRI in assessing the extent of hydatid cysts of the posterior chest wall and in particular invasion of the spinal canal.

[Ultrasonographic, CT, and MRI findings of chest wall hydatidosis]. / Apport de l'imagerie au diagnostic du kyste hydatique de la paroi thoracique.

The chest wall is an uncommon localization for hydatid disease even in countries where echinococcosis is endemic. Only isolated sporadic cases have been reported in the literature. We reviewed retrospectively 15 patients who underwent surgery for chest wall hydatid disease. Various imaging techniques were used for diagnosis of our cases. These included chest radiograph, thoracic ultrasonography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Hydatid cyst involved soft tissues (n=5), ribs and vertebrae (n=5), ribs (n=4) and sternum (n=1). Imaging techniques were of value for diagnosis (radiographs and sonography) and for evaluation of the extent of involvement (CT and MRI). Chest wall hydatidosis requires surgical treatment but recurrence is frequent.

[A rare complication of antineoplastic BCG therapy: pulmonary tuberculosis]. / Une complication rare de la BCG therapie antineoplasique: la tuberculose pulmonaire.

Local treatment with intra vesical BCG for bladder carcinoma have few complications. Pulmonary side effects are rare, like interstitial pneumonitis. We report a case of a 77-year-old man, treated with BCG for bladder carcinoma who developed illness and tumoral chest-X-ray opacity. Mycobacterium tuberculosis bovis was isolated in culture and 2 years after in sputum. Physio pathologic mechanism of pulmonary features remains controversial, however this case suggest that lung lesions can be result of an infection process.

[Muscle metastasis of a primary bronchial carcinoma]. / Metastase musculaire d'un carcinome bronchique primitif.

Intra muscular metastasis are rare. They usually occurs during the course of a cancer. The primary bronchial carcinoma is the most common. Clinical features include painful mass, frequently, they are symptomatic. Sonography CT scan and MR imaging shows a non specific abnormally, but they defined their seat and their extension. The authors report a case of metastases of epidermoid bronchial carcinoma to left adductor muscle and gives a review of the literature.

[Costal hydatid cyst (report of 2 cases)]. / Kyste hydatique costal (a propos de 2 cas).

Hydatidosis is an endemic affection in our country. Hepatic and pulmonary localisation is the most frequent. The other localisation especially in the bone, are exceptional. We report 2 cases of costal hydatid diagnosed on 17 and 33 years old male patients admitted for parietal tumor respectively localized in cervix and thorax. The diagnosis, suspected on chest tomography is confirmed by histologic patterns of resected rib.