Systemic Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Infection One Year After Intravesical Immunotherapy Mimicking Sarcoidosis

Cureus. 2022 Nov 20;14(11):e31697. doi: 10.7759/cureus.31697. eCollection 2022 Nov.

Abstract

A patient presented with pancytopenia and hypercalcemia after intravesical immunotherapy with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) for bladder cancer. Bone marrow biopsy performed six months later revealed noncaseating granulomas with negative stains for AFB. He was diagnosed with sarcoidosis and treated with prednisone. Hypercalcemia resolved, but mild pancytopenia persisted. One year later, he developed sepsis. Blood cultures six weeks later grew Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, ultimately identified as Mycobacterium bovis. Despite triple antibiotic therapy, the patient progressively declined and expired.

Keywords: bacillus calmette-guerin infection; intravesical immunotherapy; m. bovis; non-caseating granuloma; sarcoidosis “like; severe hypercalcemia.

Publication types

  • Case Reports