Coinfección por lepra y tuberculosis ganglionar en un adulto / Leprosy and ganglionar tuberculosis coinfection in an adult

Se describe el caso clínico de un paciente de 34 años de edad, quien acudió a consulta de Dermatología por presentar máculas eritematosas pruriginosas generalizadas. A los 3 meses con tratamiento específico comenzó a presentar febrículas vespertinas y adenopatías cervicales dolorosas, por lo que se indicó una baciloscopia en ambos codos y pabellones auriculares, pero no se halló el Mycobacterium leprae; además se realizó biopsia por aspiración con aguja fina de un ganglio cervical, cuyo resultado reveló una tuberculosis ganglionar. Finalmente se diagnosticó una coinfección por lepra y tuberculosis ganglionar, dos enfermedades producidas por el Mycobacterium, cuya coexistencia es rara.

The case report of a 34 year-old patient is described who came to the Dermatology Service due to disseminated pruritic erythematous stains. After 3 months with specific treatment he began to present evening low fevers and painful cervical adenopathies, reason why a baciloscopy was indicated in both elbows and ear pavilions, but the Mycobacterium leprae was not found; besides aspiration biopsy with fine needle of a cervical ganglion was also carried out, which result revealed a ganglionar tuberculosis. Finally a leprosy and tuberculosis ganglionar coinfection was diagnosed, two diseases emerging due to the Mycobacterium, which coexistence is strange.

Tuberculous lymphadenitis and borderline leprosy in a patient with isolated unconjugated hyperbilirubinaemia.

A 35-year-old man was diagnosed with tuberculous lymphadenitis and multibacillary borderline tuberculoid leprosy. On investigation, isolated unconjugated hyperbilirubinaemia was detected and evaluation led us to conclude that the probable cause was Gilbert's syndrome. He was successfully managed by administration of chemotherapy for the treatment of both the mycobacterial infections, with no adverse effects on liver function tests.

Immunocytochemical detection of mycobacterial antigen in extrapulmonary tuberculosis.

The aim of the study is to determine whether immunostaining for mycobacterial antigen can contribute to the cytological diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB). The study was carried out on aspirated material of lymph nodes, and other accessible sites, from 65 patients with clinical diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). Twenty patients, diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration, with non-tuberculous granulomas served as controls. The diagnosis of TB was based on the demonstration of acid-fast bacilli (AFB), culture positivity for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), or response to treatment with standard anti-tubercular therapy. Immunostaining was done using polyclonal antibody to mycobacteria. AFB positivity by Ziehl Neelsen (ZN) staining was 21%, 65.38%, and 68% respectively in Pattern 1 (granulomas alone), in Pattern 2 (granulomas with necrosis), and in Pattern 3 (necrosis alone). Overall AFB positivity was 56.92%. Twenty-eight of 65 cases were negative for AFB on direct smear. Culture was positive in 46% (13/28). Sensitivity and specificity of immunostaining were 96.92% (63/65) and 95%, respectively. Immunoreactivity was seen in 26 (92.8%) of 28 cases which were negative by ZN staining. Except in the case of leprosy, in which cross reactivity was seen, there was no immunoreactivity in the control group. Immunocytochemistry (ICC) had high sensitivity (96.2%) and specificity (95%) in the diagnosis of EPTB. ICC may be a useful adjunct to evaluation of cytomorphology and ZN staining.

[Tubercular inflammation of cervical lymph nodes with a colliquative tuberculosis focus--a case study]. / Gruzlica wezlów chlonnych szyi z ogniskiem gruzlicy rozplywnej--opis przypadku.

Cutaneous tuberculosis is a specific form of tuberculosis, with various clinical pictures and resulting from either endo- or exogenous way of infection, immunological mechanisms and unfavourable conditions for mycobacterium development. The atypical course and symptoms of the disease may cause difficulties in obtaining proper diagnosis and, in consequence, result in delayed onset of appropriate treatment. When diagnosing cutaneous tuberculosis, a broad spectrum of differential diagnoses should be applied, taking into account other diseases, such as, among others, leishmaniasis, actinomycosis, leprosy or deep mycoses. In this report, a case of lymph node tuberculosis and of colliquative tuberculosis of the skin, at first erroneously diagnosed as actinomycosis, complicated by multiform erythema. In the reported case, no tuberculous bacilli were identified in bacteriological evaluations of bioptates, collected from the skin changes. The final diagnosis of the disease was determined by the presence of specific granulation tissue in the last of performed histopathological studies, as well as by hypersensitivity to tuberculin and the presence of mycobacterial DNA in PCR evaluation. According to the authors, in case of clinically suspected cutaneous tuberculosis, repeated (several) histopathological studies of samples from observed changes seem to be fairly justified. The results of histopathological studies should be completed by one of the methods of oligomycobacterial material evaluation, e.g. by identification of mycobacterial genetic material by means of nucleic acid amplification in the PCR method.

Acute renal failure due to rifampicin: a study of 25 patients.

BACKGROUND: Acute renal failure (ARF) caused by rifampicin typically occurs on intermittent administration. There are isolated case reports and only one series reported in the literature. Systematic data, especially from countries endemic for tuberculosis and leprosy, are sparse. METHODS: We studied demographic, clinical, biochemical, and histopathologic features and prognosis of 25 consecutive patients with rifampicin-associated ARF admitted from July 1990 to June 2000. RESULTS: Rifampicin-associated ARF constituted 2.5% of all cases of ARF seen during the study period. The most common pattern of drug intake resulting in ARF (40%) was ingestion of a single dose preceded by a drug-free period (range, 10 days to 6 years) after a course of daily rifampicin (range, 8 days to 18 months). Onset was with gastrointestinal and flu-like symptoms 4 hours (median) after drug intake. All patients were oliguric. Anemia and thrombocytopenia each occurred in 60% of patients. Acute hepatitis was present in 32%. Among 12 patients who underwent kidney biopsy, 7 patients (58%) had acute interstitial nephritis (AIN). Crescentic glomerulonephritis was seen in 1 patient, and mesangial proliferation, in 3 patients. No single feature at presentation predicted the severity of renal failure. There were no deaths, and all patients recovered renal function. CONCLUSION: Patients with rifampicin-associated ARF were oliguric and presented with gastrointestinal and flu-like symptoms, typically after reintroduction of the drug after a drug-free period. Anemia and thrombocytopenia were common. AIN was the most common biopsy finding. No factor predicted severity, but the renal prognosis was good.