A Case of Pleural Tuberculosis vs Latent Tuberculosis Reactivation as a Result of COVID-19 Infection and Treatment

Wesley Tang; Lex Leonhardt; Aamir Pervez; Satish Sarvepalli

doi:10.55729/2000-9666.1078

A Case of Pleural Tuberculosis vs Latent Tuberculosis Reactivation as a Result of COVID-19 Infection and Treatment

J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect. 2022 Jul 4;12(4):89-93. doi: 10.55729/2000-9666.1078. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Wesley Tang¹, Lex Leonhardt¹, Aamir Pervez¹, Satish Sarvepalli²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Kettering Medical Center, Kettering, OH, USA.
² Division of Infectious Disease, South Dayton Acute Care Consultants, Dayton, OH, USA.

Abstract

The reactivation of latent tuberculosis occurs when a patient living with Mycobacterium tuberculosis enters a state where the immune system is suppressed. Since early 2021, the standard of care has been to provide corticosteroids in patients with COVID-19 infection in hospitalized patients receiving supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation. The immunomodulatory effects of corticosteroids are potentially detrimental for patients with latent vs active tuberculosis, with concomitant SARS-CoV2 infection. We present one of the first few cases in the literature detailing a case of reactivation of latent tuberculosis vs. pleural tuberculosis as a consequence of COVID-19, and who underwent subsequent corticosteroid treatment.

Keywords: COVID-19 infection; Corticosteroids; Immunosuppression; Latent tuberculosis; Pleural tuberculosis; Tuberculosis reactivation.

Publication types

Case Reports