Chest, Vol 94, 1240-1244, Copyright © 1988 by American College of Chest Physicians

ARTICLES

Endobronchial tuberculosis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

LS Wasser, GW Shaw and W Talavera
Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, New York 10011.

Although many of the pulmonary manifestations of tuberculosis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are well known, endobronchial involvement has not been previously described. We report the clinical, roentgenographic, and bronchoscopic features of three patients with endobronchial tuberculosis and AIDS. All of the patients had nonspecific symptoms of fever and cough; however, none exhibited the classic findings of dyspnea, wheezing, or hemoptysis. Smears of sputum were nondiagnostic. The chest x-ray film revealed mediastinal adenopathy in two patients and a lower lobe consolidation in the third; all had small ipsilateral pleural effusions. Endobronchial lesions were white or pink exophytic masses obstructing the airways, mimicking bronchogenic carcinoma. Areas of "classic" primary tuberculosis were seen in two of the patients. Despite ongoing clinical and roentgenographic deterioration, all patients responded well to antituberculosis medications. Given the frequency of tuberculosis in patients with AIDS and AIDS-related complex, one should maintain a high index of suspicion for involvement of the tracheobronchial tree, so as to avoid a delay in diagnosis and resultant increased morbidity and mortality.