Recurrence of tuberculosis as a cerebral abscess in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Abstract. Infections are a major cause of morbidityand mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Treatmentwith immunosuppressive drugs can decrease the clonal proliferation of T cellsand is the main predisposing factor for tuberculosis (TB). Clinically, theextrapulmonary TB is frequent in patients with SLE due to reactivation oflatent foci of primary infection or simply a reinfection. A case of young womanwho presented with cerebral TB. The diagnosis was established by biopsy, whichshowed chronic granulomatous inflammation with areas of central necrosis, withisolated Mycobacterium tuberculosis. There is increasing evidence suggesting anincreased severity of TB in SLE patients. This report demonstrates thenecessity of monitoring the increased susceptibility to infections in SLEpatients.Key words: Tuberculosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, cerebral abscess

Keywords

• Tuberculosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, cerebral abscess

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