Unmasking the Hidden Invader: A case report of chest wall tuberculosis presenting as an abscess

Mani Bhushan Kumar; Stephen Raj; Sree Vani; Ashwitha Ravi; Rakesh Yadav; Sunil Sethi

doi:10.1016/j.ijmmb.2024.100600

Unmasking the Hidden Invader: A case report of chest wall tuberculosis presenting as an abscess

Indian J Med Microbiol. 2024 May 3:49:100600. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmmb.2024.100600. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Mani Bhushan Kumar¹, Stephen Raj², Sree Vani³, Ashwitha Ravi⁴, Rakesh Yadav⁵, Sunil Sethi⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Microbiology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. Electronic address: manibhushan22@gmail.com.
² Department of Medical Microbiology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. Electronic address: jstephenraj7@gmail.com.
³ Department of General Surgery, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. Electronic address: sreevani.p9@gmail.com.
⁴ Department of General Surgery, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. Electronic address: ash020915@gmail.com.
⁵ Department of Medical Microbiology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. Electronic address: pgi.rky@gmail.com.
⁶ Department of Medical Microbiology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. Electronic address: sunilsethi10@hotmail.com.

PMID: 38685381
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmmb.2024.100600

Abstract

Chest wall tuberculosis is a very rare clinical entity that accounts for 1-5% of musculoskeletal tuberculosis (TB). Here we present a case of chest wall TB. A 16-year-old boy presented with complaints of progressive increasing swelling over the right hemithorax following a history of trauma. Radiologically it was a localized liquid collection with no connection to the thoracic cavity. Pus sample was sent to the mycobacteriology laboratory. The Gene Xpert result came as positive, and sensitive to rifampicin while the acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear test was negative. Diagnosing a case of chest wall TB is always challenging for clinicians.

Keywords: Abscess; Primary chest wall; Tuberculosis.

Publication types

Case Reports