[A rare infectious etiology of COPD exacerbation]

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disorder. Its exacerbation is infectious in more than half of the cases: with viral priority, while parasitic causes remain exceptional. In this work, we report a case of a COPD exacerbation caused by a visceral leishmaniasis (VL) complicated by a macrophage activation syndrome in an adult living in a Moroccan non-endemic region for this of leismaniasis form. In such atypical clinical feature, the diagnosis of VL was based on the myelogram after presence of peripheral cytopenia. Despite the seriousness of these pathologies, the early and specific treatment of VL allows a quickly improvement in the disorders caused by these diseases.

Keywords: BPCO; COPD; Cytopenia; Cytopenie; Exacerbation; Hemophagocytosis; Hémophagocytose; Leishmaniose viscérale; Myelogram; Myélogramme; Visceral leishmaniasis.