Infection and Drug Resistance (Jul 2023)

Misdiagnosis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Combined with Urinary Tuberculosis Leading to Tuberculous Meningitis: A Case Report and Literature Review

  • Ma H,
  • Wang Y,
  • Liu J,
  • Du L,
  • Wang X,
  • Wang Y

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 16
pp. 4677 – 4686

Abstract

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Honglei Ma,1 Yuqun Wang,1 Junhong Liu,1 Linping Du,1 Xiaodong Wang,2 Yingliang Wang2 1Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University, School of Clinical Medicine, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Rheumatology and Immunology, Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University, Weifang, Shandong Province, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yingliang Wang, Affiliated Hospital of Weifang University, No. 2428, Yuhe Road, Kuiwen District, Weifang, Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13869663571, Fax +86 5363081201, Email [email protected]: To explore the lessons learned from the misdiagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) combined with urinary tuberculosis leading to tuberculous meningitis (TBM) and the diagnosis and treatment of TBM through case reports and review of the literature.Methods: We report a case of an SLE patient presenting with urinary tuberculosis infection misdiagnosed as interstitial cystitis and complex urinary tract infection, who developed neurological infection after a cystocentesis biopsy and was eventually diagnosed with TBM. In addition, all cases of SLE combined with TBM from January 1975 to February 2022 were summarised and reviewed to compare current diagnostic and treatment strategies for the disease.Results: The patient suddenly developed neurological symptoms after cystocentesis biopsy, and we detected Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the macrogenomic next-generation sequence (mNGS) of the cerebrospinal fluid. We therefore excluded interstitial cystitis and neuropsychiatric lupus to confirm the diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection leading to urinary tract tuberculosis and TBM.Conclusion: SLE is complicated by urological tuberculosis, surgery triggering hematogenous dissemination leading to tuberculous meningitis. At the same time, the lack of specificity in the clinical presentation of patients makes it easy to misdiagnose neuropsychiatric lupus and delay treatment, so timely and accurate diagnosis and effective anti-tuberculosis treatment are essential.Keywords: tuberculosis, meningeal, urinary tuberculosis, lupus erythematosus, systemic, lupus vasculitis, central nervous system

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