title: Fulminant miliary tuberculosis with adult respiratory distress syndrome undiagnosed until autopsy: a report of 2 cases and review of the literature.
abstract: Despite an overall decline in the incidence of tuberculosis (TB), the percentage of cases representing miliary TB has remained stable. We report 2 cases of fatal miliary TB that remained unrecognized until autopsy, occurring within a 6-month period at 1 Detroit institution. These cases represent the wide range of presentation of miliary TB, from an acute fulminant course to a cryptic prolonged course with subtle clinical findings. Both cases shared a common end point with the development of adult respiratory distress syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Detroit Medical Center/Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
authors.forename: Julie M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bourbonnais
authors.forename: Kasem
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sirithanakul
authors.forename: Jorge A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Guzman
mesh_terms: D001344:Autopsy; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000209:etiology*; D014391:Tuberculosis, Miliary / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*