Miliary Tuberculosis Presenting as Pyrexia of Unknown Origin in Pregnancy

Abstract

Miliary tuberculosis (TB) due to the widespread dissemination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains rare, occurring in less than 1-2% of cases, and is usually associated with risk factors including female gender, extremes of age, immunosuppressed states, poor socioeconomic status and alcoholism. Delay in diagnosis or treatment of TB has been associated with poor maternal and fetal outcomes such as anemia, preeclampsia, pneumonia, preterm labor, congenital infection and intra-uterine death. We described a case of miliary TB in pregnancy presenting as prolonged fever with a negative workup showing the challenges in diagnosing miliary TB antenatally, as manifestations can be non-specific and investigation results are inconclusive. This case emphasizes the importance of a multidisciplinary team, especially of obstetricians with expertise in high-risk pregnancies, infectious diseases, rheumatologists and neonatologists. J Clin Gynecol Obstet. 2019;8(4):114-117 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jcgo591