Tuberculosis of the Breast as a Presenting Manifestation of AIDS

Abstract

Tuberculous infections of the breast are considered rare in the developed world. We describe a case of mammary tuberculosis in a woman who was not initially known to be seropositive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and who was thought to have a pyogenic breast abscess. This uncommon presentation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis as an AIDS-defining condition highlights the necessity for performing mycobacterial smears and cultures in such cases when patients are at risk for HIV infection.

Tuberculosis of the breast: Unusual clinical presentation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis

“…This agrees with the observation that this organ, along with the spleen and the skeletal muscle, is resistant to tuberculosis [6]. This localisation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis has been described in patients with AIDS, where it may be the first ctinical manifestation [4]. By contrast, this frequency may reach 3% of the cases identified by fine needle aspiration cytology in areas with high prevalence [9].…”

Effect of AIDS on Women Who Have Sex-Determined Health Issues

“…Clinically, the differential diagnosis may be carcinoma. 88,89 Furthermore, presently, imaging modalities like mammography or ultrasonography are unreliable in distinguishing tuberculous mastitis from carcinoma. 90,91 Hence, a high vigilance is required to make a diagnosis of breast TB and should be included in the differential diagnosis of breast lesions in immunocompromised patients, especially in TB endemic areas.…”

A Case of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis of the Lung and Breast Due to Intrafamilial Transmission

“…Tüberkülöz mastit bugün nadir görülen bir infeksiyondur ve genellikle 20-40 yaş arasındaki doğurganlık çağındaki kadın-larda rastlanır (12,13). Lezyon genellikle tek taraflıdır.…”

“…Laktasyon döneminde sık görülmesi, meme damarlanmasındaki artışın basilin yaylı-mını kolaylaştırması sebebiyledir. İnfeksiyon genellikle sekonderdir ve bakteri en sık lenfatik, daha az olarak da hematojen yol veya komşuluk yoluyla gelişir (12,13,18,19). Hastalar genellikle sağlıklı görünümde olup konstitüsyonel semptomlar yoktur.…”