A case report: lately diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis complicates complete left lung atelectasis due to airway narrowing

Dao Thuy Quynh, Nguyen Thi Hang, Truong Van Quy

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Abstract

Pulmonary tuberculosis is one of the most common forms of tuberculosis, along with endobronchial TB that can cause dangerous complications such as atelectasis due to irreversible bronchial narrowing. We report a case of a 14 years old girl admitted to the hospital because of cough lasting for more than 2 months with no fever, no difficulty breathing and left lung hypoventilation was found. The chest X-ray results showed that the entire left lung was unevenly opacified, the tracheal was pulled to the left. Chest computed tomography scan showed that the left lung was completely hypovolemic, the left main bronchus was narrow. Bronchoscopy showed almost complete narrowing of the left main bronchus. The etiological diagnostic tests showed positive results of direct sputum smear for AFB (Acid Fast Bacillus); molecular diagnosis and cultures of tuberculosis bacteria were both positive in sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluids.

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References

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