Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis Presenting as a Suspected Case of Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Abstract

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) represents a diagnostic challenge. Bone TB is an uncommon and important presentation of extrapulmonary TB, which can lead to bone destruction, deformity and even paraplegia. Breast TB is rare and often confused with neoplasia, since the clinical and imaging presentations are not specific. Any of these extrapulmonary TB presentations, in the absence of cultural isolation of mycobacteria, oblige the exclusion of other diseases (secondary or infectious diseases). The authors report a case of multifocal extrapulmonary TB, as an example of the problem with the differential diagnosis of the disease.LEARNING POINTSExtrapulmonary TB remains a diagnostic challenge.Consider breast TB as a differential diagnosis of mammary nodules.A high level of suspicion is necessary to make an early diagnosis and start appropriate treatment before irreversible damage takes place.