The upper lung lobes and segment 6 are affected in secondary tuberculosis as an endogenous reactivation of past infection that can be explained by a higher degree of oxygen tension and a lower blood flow, i.e., a higher ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) ratio than the base lung fields (1).
A 65-year-old male with no underlying disease presented to our emergency department with a cough, fever, and weight loss. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed thin, bilateral cavitary lesions with an upper lung field predominance (Picture A, B). Mycobacterium tuberculosis was detected in the sputum samples.
Picture.
Rothlin et al. analyzed the pathological findings of secondary tuberculosis in various animals (2). In pattern diagrams included in the paper (Picture C, D, E, F, and G), it is clearly shown that the distribution of the lesions of secondary tuberculosis is affected by the body position in which various animals live (2). Clinicians should therefore consider the distribution of pulmonary tuberculosis lesions for such cases (1,2).
The authors state that they have no Conflict of Interest (COI).
References
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