Difference between revisions of "IPLab:Lab 6:Tuberculosis"

From Pathology Education Instructional Resource
Jump to: navigation, search
(Autopsy Findings)
 
(7 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
== Clinical Summary ==  
+
== Clinical Summary ==
This 29-year-old black female had a history of scleroderma involving the lung, kidney, heart, and skin. Her main clinical problems centered on her restrictive lung disease. She was able to live at home with supplemental oxygen but recently she had developed edema, chest pain, weakness, light-headedness, and a loss of appetite. The patient was admitted to the hospital with a working diagnosis of congestive heart failure brought on by her lung disease. Echocardiographic evaluation revealed a pericardial effusion that was tapped. Soon after this procedure her respiratory status degenerated and she required intubation. Despite aggressive supportive treatment for her cardiac and pulmonary problems, she could not be weaned from the ventilator. Two weeks after admission she became febrile and Gram positive cocci were isolated from sputum culture. She was placed on antibiotics but her condition deteriorated and she developed bradycardia followed by electromechanical dissociation (EMD).
+
During the course of a routine physical examination two months prior to admission, this 57-year-old white male was noted to have a lesion in the upper lobe of the right lung. Initially, he was treated for two weeks with ampicillin. He was then admitted to an outside hospital for further study. All studies including sputum studies for tubercle bacilli, bronchial washings, and bronchoscopy were negative and he was discharged. Review of systems revealed the presence of mild dyspnea on exertion, accompanied by a slightly productive cough. Of interest was the fact that the patient had been PPD positive for the past 4 to 5 years, but this had never been evaluated. On this hospital admission, physical and laboratory examinations were negative. Radiographic examination of the chest revealed a 2 x 2-cm density in the right lower lung field. Several small cavities were identified in this area on CT scan.
  
== Autopsy Findings ==
+
The patient underwent a thoracotomy, at which time a portion of the upper lobe of the right lung was removed. Examination of the cut surface revealed small white nodules measuring up to 0.2 cm in diameter.
Upon opening the thorax there was 600 cc of cloudy serous fluid in each hemithorax and 100 cc of similar fluid in the pericardial sac. The heart weighed 530 grams and there was thickening of both the left and right ventricular walls. The liver weighed 1880 grams and was congested. The spleen weighed 200 grams and was also congested. The combined lung weight was 1875 grams; the lungs were markedly fibrotic with severe emphysema. In addition, dermal thickening was evident throughout the body and the wall of the esophagus was thickened and firm.  
 
  
 
== Images ==
 
== Images ==
Line 14: Line 13:
 
File:IPLab6TB6.jpg|This is a high-power (oil immersion) photomicrograph of granuloma stained with an acid-fast stain. Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli stain red.  
 
File:IPLab6TB6.jpg|This is a high-power (oil immersion) photomicrograph of granuloma stained with an acid-fast stain. Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli stain red.  
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
 +
 +
== Virtual Microscopy ==
 +
=== Lung: TB H&E ===
 +
<peir-vm>IPLab6TB_HE</peir-vm>
 +
 +
=== Lung: TB AFGT ===
 +
<peir-vm>IPLab6TB_AFGT</peir-vm>
 +
 +
=== Normal Lung ===
 +
<peir-vm>UAB-Histology-00107</peir-vm>
 +
 +
== Study Questions ==
 +
* <spoiler text="What is the Ghon complex?">In primary pulmonary TB you get (1) parenchymal subpleural lesions, often just above or just below the interlobar fissure, and (2) enlarged caseous lymph nodes draining the parenchymal focus (usually the hilar lymph nodes).</spoiler>
 +
* <spoiler text="What factors are responsible for the virulence of M. tuberculosis?">M. tuberculosis has no known exotoxins, endotoxins or histolytic factors. Its pathogenicity is due to the fact that it resists phagocytic killing and sets up a delayed hypersensitivity reaction. Virulent M. tuberculosis organisms have cord factor, sulfatides, LAM, heat shock protein and they activate complement.</spoiler>
 +
* <spoiler text="What is the sequence of events after primary exposure to M. tuberculosis?">The initial infection with M. tuberculosis leads to a T cell-mediated immune response that controls 95% of infections. Alveolar macrophages phagocytose the organisms and then transport them to the hilar lymph nodes. Macrophages cannot kill the mycobacteria so the organisms multiply, lyse the host cell, infect other macrophages, and sometimes disseminate via the blood to other parts of the lung and elsewhere in the body.
 +
 +
After a few weeks, T cell-mediated immunity develops and leads to activation of macrophages so they can kill intracellular mycobacteria via reactive nitrogen intermediates. This process leads to formation of epithelioid cell granulomas and clearance of the mycobacteria. Also, CD8+ suppresser T cells kill macrophages that are infected with mycobacteria, resulting in the formation of caseating granulomas. These processes during the primary infection with M. tuberculosis result in a calcified scar in the lung parenchyma and in the hilar lymph node. This combination is called the Ghon complex.
 +
</spoiler>
 +
 +
== Additional Resources ==
 +
=== Reference ===
 +
* [http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/230802-overview eMedicine Medical Library: Tuberculosis]
 +
* [http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/infectious_diseases/mycobacteria/tuberculosis_tb.html Merck Manual: Tuberculosis (TB)]
 +
 +
=== Journal Articles ===
 +
* Rodrigues DS, Medeiros EA, Weckx LY, Bonnez W, Salomão R, Kallas EG.  [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11982602 Immunophenotypic characterization of peripheral T lymphocytes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and disease].  ''Clin Exp Immunol'' 2002 Apr;128(1):149-54.
 +
 +
=== Images ===
 +
* [{{SERVER}}/library/index.php?/tags/259-tuberculosis PEIR Digital Library: Tuberculosis Images]
 +
* [http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/LUNGHTML/LUNGIDX.html#4 WebPath: Granulomatous Diseases]
 +
 +
== Related IPLab Cases ==
 +
* [[IPLab:Lab 1:Tuberculosis|Lab 1: Lung: Tuberculosis (Caseous Necrosis)]]
 +
* [[IPLab:Lab 3:Tuberculosis|Lab 3: Lung: Tuberculosis]]
  
 
{{IPLab 6}}
 
{{IPLab 6}}
  
 
[[Category: IPLab:Lab 6]]
 
[[Category: IPLab:Lab 6]]

Latest revision as of 23:39, 8 July 2020

Clinical Summary[edit]

During the course of a routine physical examination two months prior to admission, this 57-year-old white male was noted to have a lesion in the upper lobe of the right lung. Initially, he was treated for two weeks with ampicillin. He was then admitted to an outside hospital for further study. All studies including sputum studies for tubercle bacilli, bronchial washings, and bronchoscopy were negative and he was discharged. Review of systems revealed the presence of mild dyspnea on exertion, accompanied by a slightly productive cough. Of interest was the fact that the patient had been PPD positive for the past 4 to 5 years, but this had never been evaluated. On this hospital admission, physical and laboratory examinations were negative. Radiographic examination of the chest revealed a 2 x 2-cm density in the right lower lung field. Several small cavities were identified in this area on CT scan.

The patient underwent a thoracotomy, at which time a portion of the upper lobe of the right lung was removed. Examination of the cut surface revealed small white nodules measuring up to 0.2 cm in diameter.

Images[edit]

Virtual Microscopy[edit]

Lung: TB H&E[edit]

Lung: TB AFGT[edit]

Normal Lung[edit]

Study Questions[edit]


Additional Resources[edit]

Reference[edit]

Journal Articles[edit]

Images[edit]

Related IPLab Cases[edit]

Mycobateria grow very slowly on culture plates, with cultures requiring up to 6 weeks for a positive finding. In lieu of cultures, a more rapid diagnostic test is the PPD--purified protein derivative of tuberculosis--test. PPD is injected under the skin of an individual and then the area is reexamined in 48-72 hours for signs of an inflammatory reaction. A positive test indicates previous exposure to M. tuberculosis.

A thoracotomy is a surgical procedure in which an opening is made in the chest wall.

Caseous means cheesy.

A normal PaCO2 is 35 to 45 mmHg.