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DISSEMINATED TUBERCULOSIS COMPLICATED BY THE HEMOPHAGOCYTIC SYNDROME
Author(s) -
BROWETT P. J.,
VARCOE A. R.,
FRASER A. G.,
ELLISPEGLER R. B.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 0004-8291
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-5994.1988.tb02250.x
Subject(s) - medicine , tuberculosis , intensive care medicine , pathology
A 43‐year‐old Polynesian presented with fever, abnormal liver function tests, bilateral pulmonary infiltrates, and a progressive neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. Bone marrow examination showed extensive and striking hemophagocytosis which raised the diagnosis of malignant histiocytosis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was subsequently cultured from both urine and bone marrow. Hemophagocytosis is now a recognised association of several infections and we draw attention to this finding, particularly as the confident exclusion of malignancy can be very difficult and management is obviously very different.