tuberculosis (tb) following renal transplant

introduction: mycobacterial tuberculosis (tb) infection is a serious opportunistic infection in renal transplant patients. although tb is normally considered as an opportunistic infection of the early period, it can be diagnosed at any time. in this study four patients who suffered from tb were examined. cases report: among 200 patients who were monthly examined in sina hospital of tehran, tb was found in four patients, with two presenting <1 year after surgery and others after 5 years. tb was diagnosed by smear, culture, pathology and chest radiography. three cases presented with pulmonary tb and another with pie. three of them had negative ppd test before transplantation. cyclosporine serum levels were monitored in all cases and in two cases dosage was increased. hepatotoxicity occurred in one case and all of the cases had functioning grafts. conclusion: as tb is an endemic disease in iran; we should consider it in every kidney transplant patient with lung problems.