. A rare case of chylothorax due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Tuberculous chylothorax constitutes an exceptional clinical condition. Only 5 cases have been recorded in the literature (Medline search, from 1970 to May 2009). We describe a case of tuberculous chylothorax that contains some elements of originality. The CT scan of the thorax showed multiple bitateral circular lung opacities, looking like coin lesions; no medi-astinic lymphoadenopathy was seen. These radiological findings, typical of metastatic pulmonary lesions, guided our diagnostic procedures to suspect a malignant form of neoplastic chylothorax. Hence we performed a diagnostic thoracoscopy suggesting to us a tubercular disease; pleural biopsy presented histological findings typical of tuber lesions. The diagnosis was confirmed with the isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis on the Lowestein-Jensen culture of sputum.