The Atypical Manifestation of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Patients with Bronchial Anthracofibrosis

Abstract

It has been stated that bronchial anthracofibrosis (BAF) has an important relationship with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), and the coexistence of TB and BAF is high. The purpose of this study was to compare the differences in computed tomography (CT) characteristics of pulmonary TB according to the presence of underlying BAF. Total of 202 consecutive patients who were diagnosed with pulmonary TB and underwent bronchoscopy and CT in our institution were retrospectively reviewed. We classified the patients into two groups according to the presence of BAF and compared the clinicoradiological findings between the two groups (anthracofibrosis group vs. nonanthracofibrosis group). Elderly and female patients were significantly higher in anthracofibrosis group (mean age 79 ± 7 (64–94) vs. 56 ± 17 (16–95), p p p p p p = 0.002) were significantly higher in anthracofibrosis group. In contrast, the anthracofibrosis group showed lower frequency of upper lobe predominance (32% vs. 81%, p p = 0.001). In conclusion, being aware of these atypical manifestations of pulmonary TB in the presence of BAF will be of great help in early detection of TB.

Keywords

• pulmonary tuberculosis
• bronchial anthracofibrosis
• computed tomography