Open AccessThe use of thoracic computed tomography scanning and EBUS-TBNA to diagnose tuberculosis of the central nervous system: two case reports
Author(s) -
Meera Mehta,
David Connell,
Melissa Wickremasinghe,
Onn Min Kon
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
european respiratory review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.565
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1600-0617
pISSN - 0905-9180
DOI - 10.1183/09059180.00002910
Subject(s) - medicine , mediastinal lymphadenopathy , radiology , thorax (insect anatomy) , tuberculosis , computed tomography , presentation (obstetrics) , radiography , cerebrospinal fluid , mediastinum , bronchoscopy , endobronchial ultrasound , pathology , anatomy
Herein, we report two cases of tuberculosis (TB) of the central nervous system where accessing the cerebrospinal fluid for diagnostic purposes was relatively or absolutely contraindicated at presentation. The finding of mediastinal lymphadenopathy on thoracic computed tomography scans, which was not visible on plain chest radiography, allowed endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) of these lymph nodes to support the diagnosis of TB in each patient and rule out other disease processes. EBUS-TBNA is a new bronchoscopic technique and in this case report appears to be a safe and useful option in the diagnosis of TB. Moreover, it proved to be so in cases where the main focus of disease was outside the thorax.