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CASE STUDY
UNUSUAL PRESENTATION OF
EXTRAPULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS: A CASE
REPORT ON MAMMARY TUBERCULOSIS
Munira Khan, MB ChB, MMedSci
Kogieleum Naidoo, MB ChB, Dip HIV Man
Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban
This case study highlights an unusual manifestation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in a person living with
HIV, namely mammary TB. Clinicians practising in settings where HIV and TB are endemic need to be aware of
the clinical presentation, diagnosis and management of mammary TB.
The incidence of extrapulmonary (EP) tuberculosis (TB)
is increased in patients with advanced HIV infection.1
,
2
Mammary TB is a rare manifestation of EPTB, and this report describes a case of TB mastitis and TB-associated
immune reconstitution syndrome (IRIS) with advanced HIV infection.
CASE REPORT
A 34-year-old woman presented with a 2-month history of loss of weight, non-productive cough and painful
swelling of the right breast. There was no past history of TB, and the patient did not know her HIV status.
Clinical examination revealed a unilateral 10x8 cm mass in the upper outer quadrant of the breast, with no lymph
node involvement. A fine-needle aspirate (FNA) was performed and the mass was then incised, drained and
dressed. Acid-fast bacilli (AFB) were isolated from the FNA using an auramine stain, and the mycobacterial
growth indicator tube culture was positive at 3 weeks. The Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strain isolated
was sensitive to all anti-TB drugs. In addition, concurrent pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) was diagnosed through a
positive sputum AFB smear and compatible changes on the chest radiograph (CXR). The CXR also showed
no communication between the lung and chest wall. The intensive phase (IP) of TB treatment, consisting of
rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethambutol, was commenced. An uneventful clinical course followed on
TB treatment, and the breast mass resolved completely. The patient accepted counselling and testing for HIV on
diagnosis of PTB and was found to be HIV infected.
Sputum smear reversion occurred 2 months after TB diagnosis. The patient was commenced on antiretroviral
therapy (ART) after 3 months of TB treatment. A oncedaily regimen of didanosine, efavirenz and lamivudine
was chosen because of its substantial potency and tolerability with TB treatment. The patient presented
2 weeks after initiation of ART with a 4-day history of a painful sternal mass. Clinical findings included newonset
generalised lymphadenopathy, a 3 cm tender erythematous sternal mass with overlying desquamation,
a 5 cm firm non-tender right breast mass recurring in the previous site, and two 10 cm soft, non-tender mobile
masses, one over the left scapula and the other centrally over the spinal column. A full blood count demonstrated
bicytopenia, neutropenia and normochromic anaemia with abnormally low folate levels. The patient's CD4
count was 163 cells/µl and her viral load 932 553 copies/ml (log 5.97).
Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from a pus swab of the sternal lesion and treated with a course of
flucloxacillin. A Ziehl-Neelsen stain of an FNA of the breast mass isolated AFB but was culture negative.
Cytology demonstrated thick inflammatory/necrotic debris with numerous epithelial granulomas, and no
ductal cells.
The patient completed 7 months of TB treatment and uninterrupted ART. Eighteen months after ART initiation,
her CD4 count was 480 cells/µl with an undetectable viral load. The sternal and breast masses had resolved
completely. However, the patient refused excision biopsy for histologically confirmed lipomas on the posterior
chest wall.
DISCUSSION
In the pre-AIDS era, incidence rates of TB mastitis were 0.1% and 3% of all breast lesions in developed and
developing countries, respectively.3
However, reports of TB of the breast are becoming more common with the advancing HIV epidemic, especially over the past
decade (Table I).
In immunocompromised patients in particular, haematogenous spread of MTB from a primary focus
can result in mammary TB. The primary site of TB in this report was the lung parenchyma. TB of the breast most
commonly presents as a lump in the central or upper outer quadrant of the breast,18
as in this case. Diagnosis is based on multiple factors including clinical history, examination, histological features, and in some cases response to empiric TB treatment. FNA of the breast lesion
remains the single most important diagnostic method.14
Histopathological examination reveals suppuration and a degree of necrotising inflammation that is uncommon
in profoundly immunocompromised patients.19
The development of the breast mass after initiation of ART may be related to the unmasking of TB-associated
IRIS. It is unusual for MTB-associated IRIS to present as a breast mass; commonly fever, lymphadenopathy
or worsening pulmonary symptoms characterise MTB IRIS.
This case highlights the need for a high index of suspicion of EPTB presenting in unusual sites particularly against
a background of high TB and HIV prevalence. It also demonstrates the clinical diagnostic and management
dilemmas faced by clinicians in this setting.
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19. Cabie A, Abel S, Brebion A, Desbois N, Sobesky G. Mycobacterium lymphadenitis
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The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPfAR) funded the care of patients in the
CAT Programme. The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria funded the drugs used in
the CAT Programme. The sponsors of the study had no role in study design, writing or the decision to
submit the material for publication.
Posts held and contribution to article:
Munira Khan, research clinician: concept, drafting and writing of paper; Kogieleum Naidoo, head of treatment
programme: assisted with writing and editing of paper.
Ethics approval: The University of KwaZulu-Natal Biomedical Research Ethics
Committee (reference number E 248/05) approved the retrospective chart review.
Conflict of interest: The authors declare that there
are no conflicts of interest.
Conference presentation: Part of this case report
was accepted for presentation at the 40th Union World Conference on Lung Health, 3 - 7 December
2009, Cancun, Mexico.
TABLE I. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW OF TB MASTITIS CASES
Isolation of MTB
Author, year
No. of cases
Breast only
Co-morbid PTB
Pattern of drug-resistant TB, site
Kalaç et al.
4
5
4
1
RI resistance, lung
Tewari and Shukla 5
30
30
-
-
Khanna et al.
6
52
52
-
-
Green and Ormerod 7
30
30
-
IE resistance, breast
Morina et al.
8
2
1
1
-
Sakr et al.
9
10
10
-
-
Ahmed and Sultan 10
10
2
8
-
Sriram et al.
11
1
1
-
-
Fadaei-Araghi et al.
12
8
1
-
-
Kumar and Sharma 13
1
1
-
RIS resistance, breast
Kakkar et al.
14
164
164
-
-
O'Reilly et al.
15
1
1
-
-
Al-Marri et al.
16
13
13
-
-
Harris et al.
17
38
33
5
-
*This was the only report that documented HIV status; the patient was HIV uninfected.
R = rifampicin; I = isoniazid; E = ethambutol; S = streptomycin.