Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in transplant recipients: Case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Transplant recipients are at increased risk of tuberculosis (TB). We describe a case of pulmonary and vertebral multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in a kidney transplant patient who required neurosurgical intervention and unfortunately developed fatal nosocomial complications. Thirteen transplant recipients with MDR-TB were previously reported in the literature (one hematopoietic cell transplant, one heart transplant, one lung transplant, one heart-lung transplant, and nine kidney transplant recipients). Extrapulmonary disease, severe treatment complications, and deaths were observed in patients who developed MDR-TB after transplantation.

Keywords: multidrug resistance; transplantation; tuberculosis.