Skin Rash with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Chronic Miliary Tuberculosis: The Role of HRCT Thorax and Bronchoscopy as Diagnostic Tools

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in India, presenting with diverse clinical and radiological manifestations such as consolidation, cavitation, lymphadenopathy, pleural effusion, miliary TB, and endobronchial TB. While acute miliary TB presenting as Acute resp...

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Main Authors: Priyanka Malhotra, Mahesh Unni, Abhishek Vairagade, Patil Shital
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2024-09-01
Series:The Journal of Association of Chest Physicians
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Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/ascp/fulltext/2024/12030/skin_rash_with_acute_respiratory_distress_syndrome.5.aspx
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author Priyanka Malhotra
Mahesh Unni
Abhishek Vairagade
Patil Shital
author_facet Priyanka Malhotra
Mahesh Unni
Abhishek Vairagade
Patil Shital
author_sort Priyanka Malhotra
collection DOAJ
description Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in India, presenting with diverse clinical and radiological manifestations such as consolidation, cavitation, lymphadenopathy, pleural effusion, miliary TB, and endobronchial TB. While acute miliary TB presenting as Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is documented, the association with a skin rash mimicking viral exanthematous fever is not. This case report describes the case of a 41-year-old male patient with acute dyspnea, a maculopapular rash, and lung infiltrates on chest radiograph, initially diagnosed with acute hypoxic respiratory failure and later confirmed as ARDS. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) thorax revealed consolidation with nodules and a characteristic butterfly pattern sparing the apices and bases. Bronchoscopy confirmed TB etiology through MTB genome in BAL samples. The patient improved significantly with intravenous antibiotics, steroids, and HFNC, leading to a documented cure after 6 months of anti-tuberculosis treatment. This report highlights the importance of considering TB in cases with nodular consolidation and positive limiting signs and recommends ICU bronchoscopy as a reliable diagnostic tool. The Kigali modification for ARDS definition was instrumental in managing this case. Use of Kigali modification for defining ARDS in resource limited setting guided management in our case.
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series The Journal of Association of Chest Physicians
spelling doaj-art-e248a019c13d4e63b68f52fcce45d8a82025-08-20T02:49:56ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsThe Journal of Association of Chest Physicians2320-90892024-09-0112312012310.4103/jacp.jacp_6_24Skin Rash with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Chronic Miliary Tuberculosis: The Role of HRCT Thorax and Bronchoscopy as Diagnostic ToolsPriyanka MalhotraMahesh UnniAbhishek VairagadePatil ShitalPulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in India, presenting with diverse clinical and radiological manifestations such as consolidation, cavitation, lymphadenopathy, pleural effusion, miliary TB, and endobronchial TB. While acute miliary TB presenting as Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is documented, the association with a skin rash mimicking viral exanthematous fever is not. This case report describes the case of a 41-year-old male patient with acute dyspnea, a maculopapular rash, and lung infiltrates on chest radiograph, initially diagnosed with acute hypoxic respiratory failure and later confirmed as ARDS. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) thorax revealed consolidation with nodules and a characteristic butterfly pattern sparing the apices and bases. Bronchoscopy confirmed TB etiology through MTB genome in BAL samples. The patient improved significantly with intravenous antibiotics, steroids, and HFNC, leading to a documented cure after 6 months of anti-tuberculosis treatment. This report highlights the importance of considering TB in cases with nodular consolidation and positive limiting signs and recommends ICU bronchoscopy as a reliable diagnostic tool. The Kigali modification for ARDS definition was instrumental in managing this case. Use of Kigali modification for defining ARDS in resource limited setting guided management in our case.https://journals.lww.com/ascp/fulltext/2024/12030/skin_rash_with_acute_respiratory_distress_syndrome.5.aspxmiliary tuberculosis; ards; erythematous macules; afb; gene xpert mtb/rif; bronchoscopy; hrct thorax
spellingShingle Priyanka Malhotra
Mahesh Unni
Abhishek Vairagade
Patil Shital
Skin Rash with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Chronic Miliary Tuberculosis: The Role of HRCT Thorax and Bronchoscopy as Diagnostic Tools
The Journal of Association of Chest Physicians
miliary tuberculosis; ards; erythematous macules; afb; gene xpert mtb/rif; bronchoscopy; hrct thorax
title Skin Rash with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Chronic Miliary Tuberculosis: The Role of HRCT Thorax and Bronchoscopy as Diagnostic Tools
title_full Skin Rash with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Chronic Miliary Tuberculosis: The Role of HRCT Thorax and Bronchoscopy as Diagnostic Tools
title_fullStr Skin Rash with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Chronic Miliary Tuberculosis: The Role of HRCT Thorax and Bronchoscopy as Diagnostic Tools
title_full_unstemmed Skin Rash with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Chronic Miliary Tuberculosis: The Role of HRCT Thorax and Bronchoscopy as Diagnostic Tools
title_short Skin Rash with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Chronic Miliary Tuberculosis: The Role of HRCT Thorax and Bronchoscopy as Diagnostic Tools
title_sort skin rash with acute respiratory distress syndrome in chronic miliary tuberculosis the role of hrct thorax and bronchoscopy as diagnostic tools
topic miliary tuberculosis; ards; erythematous macules; afb; gene xpert mtb/rif; bronchoscopy; hrct thorax
url https://journals.lww.com/ascp/fulltext/2024/12030/skin_rash_with_acute_respiratory_distress_syndrome.5.aspx
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