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Case Reports
. 2023 Oct 27;15(10):e47802.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.47802. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Pneumonia in the Pandemic: Not Always COVID-19

Nur Chandra Bunawan  1 , Annisa D Harlivasari  2 , Airin Aldiani  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Pneumonia in the Pandemic: Not Always COVID-19

Nur Chandra Bunawan et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the way we manage patients, especially those with respiratory illnesses. Clinical manifestations, chest imaging, and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) play major roles in diagnosing respiratory infections during a pandemic. However, several infections can mimic COVID-19 regarding its clinical signs, symptoms, and imaging appearance. Diagnosing pneumonia other than COVID-19 is a big challenge in developing countries, given the limited resources available. We presented a case of a 25-year-old female with clinical symptoms and radiological characteristics typical of COVID-19 but a repeated negative RT-PCR test. Further workups found lung tuberculosis as her primary diagnosis. Our patient continued treatment with an antituberculosis agent and a short course of steroids, with a remission of symptoms.

Keywords: : tuberculosis; covid-19; covid-19 pneumonia; pandemic; tropical infections.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Chest X-ray in the primary hospital
Figure 2
Figure 2. Chest X-ray in the referral hospital
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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