A case of acute tuberculous pleuropneumonia in a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Abstract

Respiratory system infections are the most common complications in immunocompromised cancer patients. We here report a 14-year-old male who was admitted to the hospital because of acute pneumonia, who had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) when he was 12 years old. A diagnosis of acute tuberculous pleuropneumonia was made based on clinical and radiographical findings, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis was identified by Ziehl-Neelson acid-fast stain and culture on Löwenstein-Jensen medium. Twenty months before pneumonia onset, the patient had been treated with immunosupressive therapy (ALL IC-BFM 2002 protocol). ©2010 with author. Published by TheScientificWorld.