CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS AND OUTCOME OF MILIARY TUBERCULOSIS

Abstract

Miliary tuberculosis (TB) is due to hematogenous spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Clinical manifestations are nonspecific and protean, depending on the predominant site of involvement.We evaluated the clinical manifestations of 15 patients with miliary TB. The diagnosis of miliary tuberculosis was based on the identification of miliary nodules on chest radiography and one of the three following criteria: 1) positive acid-fast bacilli smear and/or culture (14/15), 2) histopathological identification of TB histopathological granuloma (4/15), or 3) radiological and clinical improvement after anti-tuberculosis treatment (14/15). The median age (±SD) of the patients was 52.6±19.1 years. Only one patient had underlying diseases, diabetes mellitus. Three patients developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), one of whom died during intensive care. ARDS caused by miliary TB is associated with a high fatality rate, scope remains for improvement in its management.