PERSISTENCE OF MYCOBACTERIUM-TUBERCULOSIS IN SPUTUM WITHOUT CHEST ROENTGENOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF ACTIVE DISEASE

Abstract

M. tuberculosis was isolated consistently from sputum for 11 yr in an asymptomatic 64 yr old man whose chest radiographs show evidence of healed primary tuberculosis (Ranke complex) but no evidence of parenchymal disease. A lymph node-bronchial fistula associated with the Ranke complex is the likely site of active tuberculosis; repeated examinations of the upper and lower respiratory tract were normal. The persistence of infection in the patient is attributed to erratic usage of antituberculous drugs.