Endobronchial Tuberculosis in an HIV-positive Case.

INTRODUCTION: Tuberculosis is an opportunist infection that is fatal and most frequently seen in HIV-positive patients due to immunosuppression. Endobronchial lesions can portray symptoms in different ways. Endobronchial Tuberculosis is one of these lesions. CASE REPORT: An HIV-positive, untreated 26-year-old patient with fever, cough, and dyspnea consulted our clinic. In the chest X-ray taken, effusion on the right side and non-homogeneous density increase in the middle and upper lobes, bilaterally more prominent on the right side, were observed. Therefore, the patient underwent bronchoscopy because the CT (computerized tomography) showed mediastinal lymphadenopathy (LAP) and an endobronchial lesion in the left main bronchus. During bronchoscopy, a vegetative endobronchial lesion that causes obstruction in the left main bronchus was monitored. With the help of Pathology and PCR results, endobronchial tuberculosis was diagnosed. CONCLUSION: Even if Acid-alcohol-resistant Bacillus (ARB) is detected negative in patients who stop responding to antimicrobial treatment and are being monitored under radiological scanning, a distinctive diagnosis of endobronchial tuberculosis should be kept in mind while performing bronchoscopy.

Comparison of the median and ulnar nerves of rheumatoid arthritis patients and healthy subjects by ultrasound.

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to investigate ulnar and median nerve cross-sectional areas (CSAs) by ultrasonography in RA patients who had no signs or symptoms of neurologic involvement. Patients and methods: This case-control study was conducted with 76 participants (72 females, 4 males; mean age: 53.2+10.9 years; range, 18 to 65 years) between April 2011 and April 2013. Of the participants, 38 were RA patients without any signs or symptoms of ulnar or median nerve involvement, and 38 were healthy subjects. All participants were evaluated with ultrasound. The median and ulnar nerve CSAs were measured at the proximal inlet of the carpal tunnel using the pisiform bone as a landmark. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between patients and controls in terms of median and ulnar CSAs (p>0.05). There were no correlations between median and ulnar CSAs of the dominant hand and age, height, weight, and disease duration. The median nerve CSA was >10 mm2 in 24% of the RA patients and 14% of controls, but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.20). Conclusion: Similar median and ulnar CSAs were detected in RA patients and healthy controls. These findings cannot rule out a subclinical neurologic involvement.