Pulmonary embolism in a young male with tuberculosis and factor V Leiden

There is no doubt that venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a complex and multicausal disease. Tuberculosis (TB) itself is found to have thrombogenic potential. There is an association between tuberculosis and VTE. We present a case of a 31-year-old male diagnosed with TB after a 2-month delay. He was treated with an anticoagulant for pulmonary embolism (PE) complicated by pulmonary infarction, and with antibiotics for presumed bacterial pneumonia. The patient did not improve despite in-hospital treatment. Finally, TB was diagnosed with positive sputum smear for acid fast bacilli and subsequent culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Antituberculous therapy was uneventful and the patient was discharged home. Thrombophilia screening revealed a heterozygous factor V Leiden mutation. This case report emphasises that although there is a steady decline in active cases of TB, it should be still placed high on the list as a differential diagnosis in non-resolving lung infection or pulmonary infarction. This is especially relevant in cases with typical radiological findings located in the upper lobes. On the other hand, definitive diagnosis may be challenging in a case of concurrent TB, bacterial pneumonia and pulmonary infarction. Thromboembolic events may develop in TB patients without any clinical VTE risk factors. Therefore, thromboprophylaxis should be cautiously considered in this group of patients.