Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis Lymphadenitis as the Initial Presentation of Secondary Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis: A Case Report

Abstract

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) occurs when strains of Mycobacterium are resistant to the first-line anti-tuberculosis regimen. We present the case of a 22-year-old immigrant female of African descent who presented to her primary care physician complaining of a two-month history of an enlarging neck mass. Aspiration of the mass, analysis, and culture revealed colonization with a strain of Mycobacterium that was resistant to first-line anti-tuberculosis medications. She was subsequently placed on second line anti-tuberculosis medications.