1. [The presence of mycobacteria in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from an immunocompetent patient does not necessarily imply tuberculosis]
- Author
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Frédéric, Vandenbos, Laurent, Marcq, Sébastien, Novellas, Georges, Chyderiotis, Juliette, Haudebourg, Maxime, Benchetrit, and Fanny, Burel-Vandenbos
- Subjects
Aged, 80 and over ,Mycobacterium Infections ,Neutrophils ,Cardiomegaly ,Mycobacterium ,Diagnosis, Differential ,C-Reactive Protein ,Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ,Humans ,Female ,Radiography, Thoracic ,Tomography, X-Ray Computed ,Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ,Immunocompetence - Abstract
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the most frequently identified mycobacterium in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of immunocompetent patients. Lung infections due to non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are rare in such patients and then often occur in the context of pre-existing chronic lung disease. We report the case of an immunocompetent 85-year-old woman without pre-existing lung disease in whom M. abscessus was recovered from BALF. Cytological examination of the BALF revealed an increased number of neutrophils and some acid-fast bacilli, all located within neutrophil cytoplasm. This case report contributes a cytological description of BALF in the context of M. abscessus infection, which is poorly detailed in the literature.
- Published
- 2009