De Clerck L S, Van Offel J F, Smolders W A, Empsten F A, Bridts C H, Bourgeois N, Van Marck E, Timmermans U, Stevens W J
Department of Rheumatology, Sint-Vincentius Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium.
Clin Rheumatol. 1989 Dec;8(4):512-6. doi: 10.1007/BF02032106.
A 39-year-old Ugandan student is described presenting with general malaise, fever and a pulmonary infiltrate. Open lung biopsy showing infarction and positive ANCA lead to a diagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis and a treatment with immunosuppressive drugs was instituted. Five weeks after admission, however, sputum cultures turned out to be positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The importance of ANCA-interpretation and the possibility of false positive results is discussed.
