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[Mediastinoscopy in the case of recurrent uveitis]
T Thevenot1, R Dhote, O Rivoal
1Service de médecine interne, Hôpital Cochin, Paris, France.
Introduction:
The authors report the case of a patient who presented for 4 years recurrent anterior uveitis accompanied by asymptomatic tuberculous mediastinal lymphadenitis.
Exegesis:
CT scan of the chest showed the existence of mediastinal lymphadenopathy (< 1 cm). Mediastinoscopy with biopsy of the right laterotracheal lymph node was performed. The culture was positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, thus permitting the diagnosis of tuberculosis.
Conclusion:
This case report stresses the advantage of extensive etiological assessment when faced with unexplained uveitis; particularly it emphasizes the importance of investigating potential tuberculosis. The existence of granulomatous uveitis, a positive skin test, the ethnic origin, and mostly results of chest CT scan, were the rationale for the use of mediastinoscopy with lymph node biopsy to help guide diagnosis.