Unusual miliary tuberculosis presenting with generalized lymphadenopathy and abdominal involvement.
Although tuberculosis is common and well recognised in many countries, unusual presentations of the disease sometimes raise difficulties in differential diagnosis. We report a young patient who presented with weight loss, shortness of breath and easy fatiguability. Extensive lymphadenopathy involving the cervical, axillary and inguinal regions were found on physical examination. Chest X-ray and computed tomography revealed generalized lymphadenopathy of cervical, mediastinal and para-aortic chains, bilateral pulmonary miliary reticulonodular infiltrates, pleural effusion, hepatomegaly with low density, macronodular hypodense areas in spleen, ascites, peritoneal irregularity and thickening of bowel walls. Mantoux test was negative. Peritoneal fluid was exudative, but pleural fluid was transudative, probably due to mediastinal lymphatic obstruction. The initial clinical diagnosis was malignant lymphoma; however, positive sputum smears for mycobacteria and excisional cervical lymph node biopsy revealing caseating granulomatous lymphadenitis were consistent with tuberculosis. The patient responded well to appropriate therapy with regression of radiological abnormalities.