TB or Not TB? Mimicking : A Case of Mistaken Identity

Overview

Journal IDCases

Specialty Infectious Diseases

Date 2018 Feb 22

PMID 29464177

Citations 4

Authors

Michael Chavarria

Larry Lutwick

Bonny L Dickinson

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

is a slow-growing, non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) and a rare cause of infection in humans. Infection occurs primarily by inhalation or direct inoculation from environmental sources, and this pathogen has been reported to cause localized infections in the lungs and lymph nodes of both immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients, and disseminated disease in immunocompromised patients. Here, we present a case of pulmonary infection with in an immunocompetent 68-year-old male with clinical features similar to tuberculosis. The patient initially developed palpitations, worsening fatigue, night sweats, dyspnea, productive cough, and weight loss. Computed tomography angiogram of the chest revealed a right upper lobe pulmonary artery embolus and extensive biapical fibronodular cavitary densities. Two separate sputum samples were positive for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) and sputum cultures were positive for . The patient responded well to treatment with clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin, and ethambutol. We advise physicians to consider infection in the differential diagnosis of patients with symptoms and radiographic and microbiologic evidence suggestive of NTM pulmonary infection.

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