title: HIV Infection and Osteoarticular Tuberculosis: Strange Bedfellows.
abstract: We report the case of a 47-year-old female patient with rheumatoid arthritis and HIV infection presenting with a 3-week history of a painful swollen knee, increased serum inflammatory markers, and a low CD4 lymphocyte count. The diagnosis of TB arthritis was made by synovial fluid culture, GeneXpert/PCR, and confirmed by histopathology of a synovial biopsy. A mini literature review suggests that although HIV infection is associated with extrapulmonary TB, osteoarticular TB is a relatively unusual presentation in an HIV positive patient. The diagnostic utility of the GeneXpert test is explored. We also describe the patient's good response to an intra-articular corticosteroid injection in combination with standard anti-TB therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town 7945, South Africa.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hodkinson
authors.affiliation: Division of Anatomical Pathology, National Health Laboratory Service, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town 7945, South Africa.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Osman
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town 7945, South Africa.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Botha-Scheepers