Use of adjunctive treatment with interferon-γ in an immunocompromised patient who had refractory multidrug-resistant tuberculosis of the brain

Abstract

We describe a patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia and multidrug- resistant tuberculosis of the brain and spinal cord. Despite treatment with six antituberculous drugs and asteroid medication for 11 months, there was no appreciable clinical or radiological improvement in the patient's condition. Within 5 months of initiating adjunctive therapy with IFN-γ and granulocyte colony stimulating factors, substantial neurological and radiological improvement was noted. Therapy with IFN-γ was continued for 12 months, resulting in complete resolution of the lesions in the brain and spinal cord.