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Published on: January 20, 2011
Chronic tuberculous empyema in an 8-year-old boy
Yang Wen1, Yu Zhu1, Zongrong Gong1
1Department of Pediatrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) as a causative organism of empyema thoracis is rare, especially in children. An 8-year-old boy with tuberculous empyema and no history of contact with tuberculosis presented with minimal symptoms other than mild deformity of the chest wall. He had been vaccinated with bacillus Calmette-Guérin. A chest CT scan demonstrated intrathoracic lymphadenopathy, thickened and calcified pleural rind and rib thickening adjacent to the empyema. The diagnosis was confirmed by post-operative histopathological examination, positive acid-fast stains and DNA PCR. In countries with a high burden of tuberculosis, MTB should be considered in the differential diagnosis of empyema despite minimal symptoms.
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