Concomitant pulmonary tuberculosis and tuberculous appendicitis in a recipient of a renal transplant: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Tuberculosis is still a serious infection among recipients of renal transplants. Although the ileocecal region is the most affected part in intestinal tuberculosis, acute tuberculous appendicitis is quite a rare entity. We report a case of concomitant pulmonary tuberculosis and tuberculous appendicitis in a recipient of a renal transplant. CASE PRESENTATION: A 27-year-old Iranian woman, who had been the recipient of a renal transplant five years earlier, presented with a two-week history of coughing, fever and weight loss. The cause of her end-stage renal disease was chronic pyelonephritis. There were fine crackles noted during a chest examination, and a plain chest radiography showed fine miliary nodules throughout her entire lung fields. Sputum and bronchial aspirate examination was positive for acid-fast bacilli, suggestive of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. A chest computed tomography scan revealed widespread miliary nodules, compatible with miliary tuberculosis. She developed severe abdominal pain and abdominal surgery disclosed a perforated appendicitis. Histopathological examination of the resected appendix revealed widespread caseating epithelioid granulomas, suggestive of tuberculosis. CONCLUSION: Our case report highlights a rare presentation of tuberculosis in a patient who has undergone renal transplant. Such unusual presentation of tuberculosis, particularly among patients receiving potent immunosuppressive protocols, should be considered by clinicians.