[Fever of unknown origin and tuberculous aortitis]

We present the case of a silicotic patient, with recurrent febrile episodes during the past three years, who was hospitalized for the study of prolonged fever. In addition to compliance with the criteria of fever from unknown origin (FUO), the patient presented semiology and echocardiogram compatible with infectious endocarditis. Later on, he developed a severe aortic failure refractary to medical treatment and hence, he underwent surgery. The surgical intervention showed an abscess in the aortic root, which resulted to be of a tuberculous origin and an intact aortic valve. The review of the echocardiographic study allowed the detection of an image compatible with aortic abscess. We comment on the characteristic of this rare entity and the peculiarities of this case, which fulfill the criteria of what has been recently named recurrent or episodic FUO and among whose causes Mycobacterium tuberculosis had not been detected up to now.

[Purulent forms of tuberculous serositis]

Three cases of tuberculosis of serous membranes (1 pleuritis, 1 pericarditis, 1 meningitis) are reported in the absence of detected superinfection, all of them characterized by a purulent effusion. Even in tuberculosis endemic zones, the purulent character of the puncture liquid of tuberculotic serositis appears to be rare or exceptional. Tuberculosis has to be systematically considered among the causes of pleuritis, pericarditis or purulent meningitis when any current investigations are negative.

PERICARDITIS

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