BackgroundTuberculosis and sarcoidosis are chronic diseases that rarely occur concomitantly. Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disorder characterized pathologically by the presence of non-caseating granulomas in involved tissues. Tuberculosis is infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis characterized by granulomas with caseous necrosis.Case presentationWe present a case of 43-year-old female refugee from Kosovo with microbiological confirmation of pulmonary tuberculosis and pulmonary and skin sarcoidosis at the same time. Three weeks after corticosteroid therapy for pulmonary sarcoidosis was introduced, positive finding of mycobacterium culture of bronchial aspirate was observed. Based on these results, corticosteroid therapy was excluded and antituberculous therapy was introduced for six months. In the meantime, new nodes on face and nose appeared and skin sarcoidosis was diagnosed. The patient was given corticosteroids and colchicine according to the skin and pulmonary sarcoidosis therapy recommendation.ConclusionThe authors of this study suggest that in cases when there is a dilemma in diagnosis between tuberculosis and sarcoidosis we should advance with corticosteroid therapy until we have microbiological confirmation of mycobacterium culture. This case is remarkable because this is a third described case of sarcoidosis and tuberculosis together (the first reported in Asia, the second in South Africa), and to authors knowledge, this is a first case report in Europe.

Objectives This study aimed to directly measure pH in the lungs, determine lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), C-reactive protein (CRP), and glucose levels in serum and bronchoalveolar aspirate, and identify bacterial pathogens from bronchoalveolar fluid during acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Methods We performed an observational, analytical case–control study from February 2015 to March 2017. We included 84 patients with AECOPD and 42 with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). All participants underwent detailed medical anamnesis, a clinical examination, chest radiography, spirometry, an arterial blood gas test, bronchoscopy, bacterial culture, and serum/bronchiolar aspirate laboratory testing. Results The mean pH of bronchoalveolar fluid was significantly higher in patients with AECOPD than in patients with stable COPD. The mean lung pH value, bronchoalveolar and serum LDH levels, and serum CRP levels in patients with isolated bacteria were higher than those in patients without isolated bacteria in the AECOPD patient group. Lung pH values in patients with AECOPD were significantly correlated with bronchoalveolar LDH and glucose levels. Conclusions AECOPD is associated with local cell and tissue injury in the lungs, especially in the presence of bacterial pathogens, which is accompanied by a low systemic inflammatory response.

No abstract

Anaplastic large-cell lymphoma is a rare disease in children, and endobronchial localization is extremely rare in any age group. We report the case of a 13-year-old girl with endobronchial anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive anaplastic large-cell lymphoma presenting as asthma, and discuss the diagnostic, therapeutic, and clinical implications.