Persistent marked peripheral eosinophilia due to tuberculosis: A case report

Wereport a case of a 68-year-old femalewho was a known case of diabetes mellitus and chronic liver diseaseand presented with complaints ofdry cough and other constitutional symptoms since one month. during initial investigations,the patient was found to have peripheral bloodeosinophilia. upon investigating further,the patient was found to have mediastinal lymphadenopathy andfine-needle aspiration of mediastinal lymph nodes showed features of tuberculosis. the patient was started on anti-tubercular treatment and her eosinophil counts returned to normal levels. correlation between eosinophilia and tuberculosis has not been established in classical literature. this case highlights the same association andraises awareness on this crucial finding. coexistence of eosinophilia and tuberculosis in our patient is suggested since peripheral blood eosinophilia improved withanti-tubercular treatment. the exact pathogenesis of coexistence of tuberculosis and peripheral blood eosinophilia yet remains to be deciphered,buttissue pathology is mainly associated with the discharge of toxic eosinophil products. © 2017,shiraz university of medical sciences. all rights reserved.