Disseminated Tuberculosis in a Psoriasis Patient under Adalimumab Treatment despite the Chemoprophylaxis of Latent Tuberculosis: A Case Report

Recently, biologic therapy has become a major advance in the management of moderate-to-severe psoriasis. Although the overall safety profile of biologics is favorable, primary infection or reactivation of latent tuberculosis (TB) is the major concern in the setting of tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitor therapy. Therefore, the treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) before starting biologics is mandatory to prevent the reactivation of LTBI. A 27-year-old female was treated with adalimumab due to psoriasis. As latent TB was detected by the interferon-γ release assay, we started isoniazid treatment (300 mg/day) 3 weeks before starting adalimumab and maintained this for 6 months. Although the patient's psoriatic skin lesions improved, after 45 weeks of adalimumab therapy, she visited the emergency department because of fever and back pain for 2 weeks. Abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) and chest CT revealed multiple nodular lesions on both lungs, peritoneal wall, mesentery, and spleen, along with ascites. In the ascitic fluid, adenosine deaminase was increased to 96.4 U/L, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis grew in an acid-fast bacilli culture. The patient was diagnosed with disseminated TB and treated with conventional TB medication with discontinuation of adalimumab. Five months after the completion of TB treatment, the ustekinumab, an interleukin (IL)-12/IL-23 inhibitor, was administered. Until now, her skin lesions are under excellent control without reactivation of TB for 9 months after starting ustekinumab.