A 71-year old white man presented with a 2-month history of bilateral forearm ulceration, which was managed with dressings by his primary care practitioner. On direct questioning, he described 'bumps' forming under the skin, which would then 'crust over and break down'. He had a history of bronchiectasis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease requiring home oxygen. He had undergone successful fullthickness forearm skin grafts 10 months earlier for bilateral necrotic cellulitis. He was on a number of regular medications, which included prednisolone 15 mg daily, which he had been taking for many years.On physical examination, painful superficial ulceration was seen, affecting both forearms and extending onto the dorsal hand. The ulcers were noninflammatory and did not have an undermined edge (Fig. 1). Proximal to both elbows were three nodules, one of which was ulcerated. An incisional biopsy was taken from one of these.
Histopathological findingsSkin biopsy showed surface ulceration and a diffuse dermal infiltrate of histiocytes, neutrophils and lymphocytes. Most histiocytic intracellular vacuoles contained pale basophilic bodies (Fig. 2).Blood tests revealed neutrophilia (10.3 9 10 9 /L; normal range 1.5-7 9 10 9 /L) and lymphopenia (0.61 9 10 9 /L; 1.5-4 9 10 9 /L), HIV antibody was negative, and there was a stable IgG lambda paraprotein at 1 g/L with no evidence of immune paresis. Direct microscopy of the tissue specimen stained with the optical brightener Calcofluor revealed multiple spherical budding organisms (Fig. 3a). Indian ink stain highlighted encapsulated structures (Fig. 3b). The tissue was cultured on Sabouraud glucosepeptone agar at 37°C, and colonies grew after 48 h (Fig. 3c).What is your diagnosis?
We report the case of a 50-year-old female renal transplant patient who developed disseminated deposits initially diagnosed as metastatic malignancy of unknown primary. She declined a tissue diagnosis but subsequently developed recurrent sepsis and symptomatic unilateral pleural effusion. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was cultured from pleural fluid. Following introduction of anti-tuberculous medications, her symptoms improved rapidly and the progression of her disseminated deposits stabilized. Tuberculosis is well-known to be associated with immunocompromised patients. It is a curable disease and should remain an important differential diagnosis for transplant patients who develop suspicious malignant metastatic lesions.
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