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Unusual association of diseases/symptoms
CASE REPORT
Coinfection of leprosy and tuberculosis
  1. Seema Shetty1,
  2. Shashikiran Umakanth1,
  3. Bhawani Manandhar2,
  4. Pankaj Bahadur Nepali3
  1. 1Department of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka, India
  2. 2Department of Cardiology, Grande International Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal
  3. 3Department of Pathology, Grande International Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal
  1. Correspondence to Dr Shashikiran Umakanth, shashikiranu{at}gmail.com

Summary

Leprosy and tuberculosis (TB) are endemic to India, however, their coinfection is not frequently encountered in clinical practice. Here, we report a 32-year-old female patient who presented with a history of high-grade intermittent fever, cough and painless skin lesions since a month, along with bilateral claw hand (on examination). The haematological profile was suggestive of anaemia of chronic disease, chest radiograph showed consolidation, sputum smears were positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and skin slit smear confirmed leprosy. The patient was prescribed WHO recommended multidrug therapy for multibacillary leprosy with three drugs. Additionally, prednisolone was added to her regimen for 2 weeks to treat the type 2 lepra reaction. For treatment of TB, she was placed on the standard 6-month short course chemotherapy. She was lost to follow-up, and attempts were made to contact her. Later, it came to our notice that she had discontinued medications and passed away 3 months after diagnosis.

  • infectious diseases
  • TB and other respiratory infections
  • dermatology

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2017-222352

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    Footnotes

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    • Contributors All authors have contributed intellectually to this case and to the writing of this scientific paper and have approved its content. All the authors stand accountable for the authenticity of this report, and SU is the guarantor for the same. BM identified the subject area and initiated writing the paper. SS was involved in initial writing and reviewing the final paper. PBN was involved in the pathological interpretation and diagnosis of this case and reviewed the paper at key stages. SU reviewed and concluded the final writing of the paper. This case was diagnosed and managed by the entire team (BM, PBN, SS, SU).

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent Obtained.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.