Recurrence of tuberculosis as a cerebral abscess in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus

Infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Treatment with immunosuppressive drugs can decrease the clonal proliferation of T cells and is the main predisposing factor for tuberculosis (TB). Clinically, the extrapulmonary TB is frequent in patients with SLE due to reactivation of latent foci of primary infection or simply a reinfection. A case of young woman who presented with cerebral TB. The diagnosis was established by biopsy, which showed chronic granulomatous inflammation with areas of central necrosis, with isolated Mycobacterium tuberculosis. There is increasing evidence suggesting an increased severity of TB in SLE patients. This report demonstrates the necessity of monitoring the increased susceptibility to infections in SLE patients.