Perinatal tuberculosis in a three-month-old infant

Perinatal tuberculosis is a rare disease with a high mortality rate and is difficult to diagnose. We report a case of perinatal tuberculosis diagnosed by postmortem study at the age of 3 months. An 83-day-old male infant presented with cough for 3 weeks and intermittent fever for 1 week. A focal tonic convulsion occurred on the day of admission. Physical examination revealed failure to thrive, tachypnea, and marked hepatosplenomegaly. Chest roentgenogram showed bilateral nodular alveolar-interstitial infiltrates. Abdominal computed tomography showed multiple nodules in the liver and spleen as well as lymphadenopathy in the hepatic portal hilum. Antituberculous therapies were prescribed on the second hospital day. The patient died from respiratory failure on the sixth hospital day. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was cultured from gastric aspirates and cerebrospinal fluid 4 weeks after inoculation. Postmortem examination revealed disseminated necrotizing granulomas in several organs and tissues, including the porta hepatis lymph nodes, a primary hepatic complex. M. tuberculosis infection was diagnosed in his mother based on positive findings of Mautoux test and chest roentgenogram. This case illustrates that tuberculosis, though rare, still should be considered in poor-weight-gain neonates with cough, fever, and/or hepatosplenomegaly. Careful maternal and other family contact history is essential to establishing the diagnosis.