Abstract We report a rare case of miliary tuberculosis (TB) in an adopted woman that developed following delayed diagnosis of presumed urogenital TB. The patient had a two year history of urological symptoms, diagnosed as interstitial cystitis and treated with cyclosporine. At admission, she presented with symptoms of pyelonephritis. Neck stiffness led to lumbar puncture that showed pleocytosis with lymphocytic predominance, high protein and low glucose levels, suggestive of TB meningitis. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans showed nodular lung changes, lumbar spine destructive lesions, a unilateral kidney abscess and a parietal lobe tuberculoma. Urine and cerebrospinal fluids were positive for TB by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and culture. The patient developed complications in the form of hydrocephalus. She was treated with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt and four drug anti-tuberculosis therapy. She was discharged to neurorehabilitation on continued anti-tuberculosis treatment, developing longer term sequelae in the form of severe cognitive disabilities. This case emphasizes the importance of continuing to include TB in the differential diagnosis of a variety of diseases, particularly in patients at possible increased risk of infection, and highlights the potentially serious consequences of delayed or missed TB diagnosis.
Keywords: miliary tuberculosis; interstitial cystitis; urogenital tuberculosis; tuberculoma; meningitis; non-endemic