Spinal Epidural Tuberculoma with Adjacent Vertebral Fracture: A Case Report.

CASE: An 85-year-old woman was transported to our institution due to difficulty in walking. Preoperative imaging showed spinal cord lesions indicative of spinal cord tumor at the T7-8 level, accompanied by T8 vertebral fracture. Intraoperatively, the spinal lesion was suspected to be an epidural abscess; therefore, the capsule was resected, and the abscess was drained. We added pedicle screw fixation at the T6-10 level. Postoperatively, the spinal cord lesion was definitively diagnosed as spinal epidural tuberculoma. CONCLUSION: Spinal epidural tuberculomas should be considered in the treatment of spinal cord lesions causing paralysis attributed to spinal cord compression.

Reversible Hypothalamic Obesity in a Girl with Suprasellar Tuberculoma.

INTRODUCTION: Suprasellar tuberculoma are extremely rare in children and most of those patients present with headache, vomiting, visual disturbances, and hypofunction of the pituitary gland. In this case report, we present a girl with tuberculosis, who developed significant weight gain in combination with pituitary dysfunction, which recovered after antituberculosis treatment. CASE PRESENTATION: An 11-year old girl presented with headache, fever and anorexia that progressively evolved into an encephalopathic status with cranial nerves III and VI paresis. Brain MRI showed meningeal contrast capture along cranial nerves II (including optic chiasm), III, V and VI bilaterally and multiple contrast enhancing brain parenchyma lesions. Tuberculin skin test was negative but interferon-gamma release assay was positive. The clinical and radiological working diagnosis was consistent with tuberculous meningoencephalitis. Pulse corticosteroids for 3 days and quadruple antituberculosis therapy were started and the girl demonstrated obvious improvement of her neurological symptoms. However, after a few months of therapy she developed remarkable weight gain (+20 kg in 1 year) and growth arrest. Her hormone profile revealed insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance [HOMA-IR] 6.8) despite putative growth hormone deficiency (circulating insulin-like growth factor-I [IGF-I] 104 µg/L [-2.4 SD]). Follow-up brain MRI showed a decrease in basal meningitis, but increased parenchymal lesions in the suprasellar region extending medially into the nucleus lentiformis, with now a voluminous tuberculoma at this site. Antituberculosis treatment was continued for a total of 18 months. The patient improved clinically, she regained her pre-illness Body Mass Index (BMI) SDS and her growth rate increased slightly. On the hormonal side, disappearance of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR 2.5) and an increase in IGF-I (175 µg/L, -1.4 SD) was noted, and her last brain MRI showed a remarkable volume reduction of the suprasellar tuberculoma. CONCLUSION: Suprasellar tuberculoma can have a very dynamic presentation during the active stage of the disease, which can be reversed by prolonged antituberculosis treatment. Previous studies showed that the tuberculous process can also cause long term and irreversible changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. Prospective studies are however needed in the pediatric population to know the exact incidence and type of pituitary dysfunction.

Pituitary tuberculoma with panhypopituitarism masquerading as a pituitary adenoma.

Tuberculosis of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis is extremely uncommon. The presentation of panhypopituitarism in a case of sellar tuberculosis is an even rarer occurrence. We present a case of a 44-year-old man who presented with complaints of headache and right-sided diminution of vision for six months. A hormone profile showed abnormal anterior pituitary assay suggestive of panhypopituitarism. Magnetic Resonance imaging of the brain showed a sellar mass measuring 1.8 × 1.5 × 1.3 cm with suprasellar extension suggestive of a pituitary adenoma. Histopathological examination showed multiple epithelioid cell granulomas along with Langhans giant cells and mixed inflammatory infiltrates against a necrotic background. Zeihl Neelson stain demonstrated the presence of acid-fast bacilli. Thus, a final diagnosis of pituitary tuberculoma was made, and the patient started on antitubercular therapy. It is extremely important to correctly diagnose sellar tuberculosis as the treatment is entirely different, and the patient usually responds well to therapy.

Metastatic and aggressive renal cell carcinoma mimicking a unilateral choroidal tuberculoma.

Ocular metastases from systemic tumors are uncommon. The choroid is the most frequent target, with a preference for elderly individuals. Lung cancer is the predominant primary tumor that metastasizes to the eyes in males, although other ocular conditions such as uveitis and retinal lesions can mimic secondary tumor implants in ocular tissues. On fundoscopy, choroidal metastasis resembles other infectious processes, especially choroidal tuberculoma. Therefore, patients presenting with choroidal masses should undergo detailed clinical examinations, especially if the mass is the first manifestation of a systemic and severe disease. In this report, we describe a young man with a metastatic choroidal tumor secondary to papillary renal cell carcinoma mimicking a unilateral choroidal tuberculoma.

Multifocal choroiditis and choroidal tuberculoma: Signs of presumed ocular tuberculosis.

The diagnosis of OTB (Ocular tuberculosis) is usually difficult to make. Definitive diagnosis requires the identification of M. tuberculosis organisms in ocular tissues or fluids, but samples are often difficult to obtain, and biopsy may be hard to justify. We describe a 50-years-old Maghreb male, who presented a multifocal choroiditis associated with a choroidal tuberculoma on the left eye. Based on positive QuantiFERON-TB-Gold test and suggestive clinical and radiographic findings, a diagnosis of presumed ocular tuberculosis was made. Serial swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) and widefield fundus retinographies during subsequent follow-up visits demonstrated the characterization of the atypical tuberculosis presentation and allowed the assessment of response to antitubercular therapy and oral steroids.

A rare case of intramedullary tuberculosis with paraparesis.

Intramedullary tuberculoma (IMT) is considered to be a rare form of spinal tuberculosis (TB). Overall, TB of the central nervous system accounts for approximately 1% of all cases of TB and 50% of these involve the spine. The clinical presentation of spinal intramedullary TB is similar to an intramedullary spinal cord tumor mass. The factors attributable could be malnutrition, poor socioeconomic conditions, and immunodeficiency syndromes. As per the reports, the incidence of primary intramedullary TB is 2 in 100,000 cases among patients with TB. We describe one such patient who presented with progressive asymmetrical paraparesis due to histologically confirmed intraspinal tuberculoma. Paraparesis in spinal IMT is considered to be rare. Hereby, we present the case of a 29-year-old female who presented with asymmetric onset paraparesis of 6 months with associated numbness and tingling began in the left foot 3 months which was ascending in nature. There was no history of stiffness, involuntary movements, flexor spasms, thinning, or fasciculations of muscles. There was a loss of sensation pain, touch, and temperature below L3 with normal reflexes. Power in both the lower limbs was 1/5 as per Medical Research Council (MRC) grading. She underwent a contrast magnetic resonance imaging spine which was suggestive of an intramedullary SOL at D12 vertebral level. The patient underwent surgical intervention with resection of the SOL. Histopathology was confirmed to be an IMT. She was started on Category 1 (antitubercular drugs) and further investigated for primary source, which was found to be negative. We want to emphasize that TB can involve any part of the body. It should be kept as a differential diagnosis of any chronic inflammatory lesion involving the bony skeleton, especially in endemic countries where combined surgical and medical treatment is usually sufficient to provide a cure.

Cerebral Tuberculoma with Mild Posterior Cervical Pain as the Main Symptom Despite Extensive Brain Lesions.

A 59-year-old woman with a diabetes history experienced mild neck pain. A neurological examination revealed only mild neck stiffness. Magnetic resonance imaging showed extensive T2-weighted high-intensity lesions with patchy gadolinium enhancement mainly involving the white matter in the right parietal lobe. A cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed increased protein levels and pleocytosis. While QuantiFERON-TB Gold was positive, computed tomography (CT) and fluorodeoxyglucose on positron emission tomography-CT of the whole body showed no abnormal accumulation, suggesting tuberculosis. A brain biopsy revealed cerebral tuberculoma. As cerebral tuberculoma can show minimal neurological symptoms despite extensive lesions, a cautious examination and early treatment are required to prevent a devastating prognosis.

Clinical features and long-term treatment outcomes in choroidal tuberculoma.

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical features and treatment outcomes of patients with choroidal tuberculoma. METHODS: In this retrospective, observational case series, the medical records of five patients with choroidal tuberculoma who were followed up at a university hospital for at least 6 months were analyzed. RESULTS: Of five patients, one was male and four were female. The overall mean age was 38.0 ± 9.4 years (mean follow-up: 41.2 ± 33.8 months). Tuberculin skin test was performed in three patients, and it was positive in two of them. Interferon-gamma assay was performed in two patients and was positive in all two. Three patients had systemic tuberculosis involving the lung or other organs. Five patients were treated with antitubercular therapy for a period of 9.6 ± 8.6 months. Systemic corticosteroid treatment was performed in 3 patients, with a period of 3.5 ± 0.7 months. One patient with a recurrent vascularized tuberculoma was successfully treated with single intravitreal bevacizumab injection. CONCLUSION: Choroidal tuberculoma can develop without evidence of systemic tuberculosis and can recur despite antitubercular treatment. High index of suspicion is important in early detection, and management of choroidal tuberculoma. In cases of suspected choroidal tuberculoma, positive results on immunological tests would be sufficient to initiate antitubercular therapy even if radiological evidence of systemic tuberculosis is not found. Antitubercular therapy combined with systemic corticosteroids provided favorable results. Intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor may be considered for highly vascularized choroidal tuberculoma.

Photodynamic Therapy for the Treatment of Vascularized Intraretinal Tuberculoma.

PURPOSE: To report a case of intraretinal tubercular granuloma successfully treated with photodynamic therapy (PDT). METHODS: Retrospective case report. Multimodal imaging was performed at each follow-up visit. RESULTS: The tuberculoma did not regress and did not significantly reduce its exudation after anti-tubercular therapy (ATT), systemic steroid therapy and intravitreal anti-VEGF. Second line treatment with PDT was attempted. The lesion showed a regression with reduced sub-retinal fluid and intra-retinal exudates. A second PDT was performed for reactivation of the lesion 5 months after the first treatment. Further regression of the lesion was observed. CONCLUSION: PDT may be a valuable second-line therapeutic approach for vascularized intraretinal granulomas.

Tuberculoma in the Fourth Ventricle: An Unusual Location.

To present a young immunocompetent patient with a fourth ventricle tuberculoma without pulmonary tuberculosis. A previously healthy young male patient presented with a history of headache, nausea, and blurred vision. Neuroimaging revealed a mass present in the fourth ventricle. The lesion was successfully resected. Histological and microbiological findings suggested the presence of a tuberculoma. Tuberculomas can be found in the posterior fossa in adults. This infectious pathology should not be forsaken when considering the differential diagnosis for infratentorial masses.

Clinical and Multimodal Imaging Clues in Differentiating Between Tuberculomas and Sarcoid Choroidal Granulomas.

PURPOSE: To compare the differences among clinical, demographic, and multimodal imaging features of choroidal granulomas associated with tuberculosis and sarcoidosis. DESIGN: Retrospective comparative case series. METHODS: Clinical features and fundus imaging, including fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography and optical coherence tomography of patients with tuberculomas and sarcoid choroidal granulomas seen at 3 tertiary care centers, were reviewed. The differences among clinical appearances, including morphology of the lesions (size, shape, extent), vascularity, and multimodal imaging features, were compared. Repeated logistic regression measurements with a multilevel random effects model was used to assess characteristics of individual granulomas that could predict the underlying cause. RESULTS: The study included 47 eyes of 38 patients (22 with tuberculomas and 16 with sarcoid granulomas; total of 138 granulomas). Patients with tuberculomas were significantly younger (33.8 ± 10.1 vs. 48.6 ± 14.3 years, respectively; P = .002), but no sex differences were observed. In comparison with sarcoid granulomas, tuberculomas were solitary (P <.001), intense yellow, lobulated, full thickness, and located in the perivascular region (all P <.001); they were also larger (16.01 ± 9.7 mm2 vs. 2.7 ± 4.5 mm2, respectively; P <.001) and were vascularized (P <.001). Sarcoid granulomas were associated with retinal vasculitis (P = .003) and disc hyperfluorescence (P <.001). Logistic regression showed that multiple granulomas were associated with sarcoidosis (odds ratio [OR]: 3.5; 95% confidence interval: 1.8-6.9; P <.001). Granulomas larger than 6.45 mm2 had the highest area under the receiver operating curves (0.94) for differentiating tuberculomas from sarcoid granulomas. CONCLUSIONS: Tuberculomas and sarcoid choroidal granulomas have various clinical and imaging features that help differentiate between the 2 entities with high predictability and can supplement immunological and radiological tests in a diagnosis.