Endobronchial tuberculosis polyps

Christiaan Yu, Chuan Tai Foo, Ar Kar Aung, Simon A. Joosten

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleOtherpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Endobronchial tuberculosis (TB) is an uncommon manifestation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We report a case of endobronchial TB polyps in a patient from India presenting with cough, loss of weight and night sweats. Computed tomography chest revealed enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes, endobronchial invasion, and nodular infiltrates in the right lower lobe. Flexible bronchoscopy revealed two endobronchial polyps at the carina and left main bronchus which were biopsied. Histopathology showed non-caseating granulomas. Both the biopsy and bronchial washings did not identify acid-fast bacilli on Ziehl-Neelsen stain and had negative TB complex DNA polymerase chain reaction. One month after bronchoscopy, M. tuberculosis was cultured from the bronchial washings. Following six months of TB treatment, there was full resolution of symptoms and significant radiological improvement. We highlight the diagnostic challenges in endobronchial TB which may impact on the timely institution of treatment.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere00595
Number of pages4
JournalRespirology Case Reports
Volume8
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2020

Keywords

  • Endobronchial polyps
  • endobronchial tuberculosis
  • flexible bronchoscopy
  • tuberculosis

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