[A case of human-immunodeficiency virus infection related Mycobacterium tuberculosis with atypical clinical features]

Increasing rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) related tuberculosis have been noted and recently the clinical importance of the disease has been mentioned. The diagnosis of tuberculosis is more difficult in those patients with HIV seropositive than those with seronegative, because those with seropositive have atypical clinical features. A 29-year-old male, who was infected with HIV heterosexually in Central Africa in 1986, was admitted to our hospital with a history of general malaise and weight loss in April, 1989. Laboratory and physical examinations revealed anemia, thrombocytopenia, the elevation of LDH, and giant intraabdominal lymphadenopathies, suspecting malignant lymphoma. Mycobacterium was isolated from the sputa in April and was confirmed as M. tuberculosis using a DNA probe in May, 1989. Clinical symptoms including giant lymphadenopathies and laboratory abnormalities improved with antituberculosis therapy. Development of a rapid method for the diagnosis of tuberculosis was warranted in this case.