Case Studies

 Case 2.7 Tuberculosis

A 25-year-old Asian man was referred to his local chest clinic with a history of a cough and loss of weight over the preceding 6 months. He had lived in the UK for the past 7 years and a chest X-ray taken immediately prior to entry into the UK was reportedly normal.

On examination, left apical crackles were noted on auscultation of his chest and a chest X-ray revealed left apical shadowing with cavitation. His sputum contained Mycobacterium tuberculosis and a skin test with tuberculin was strongly positive. He was promptly treated with standard antituberculous therapy and made a full recovery. The local public health department was notified who undertook contact tracing.

This patient presented with postprimary tuberculosis, a common form of the disease which occurs as a result of reactivation of quiescent endogenous primary infection or exogenous reinfection.