Two Cases of Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis: Common Features with Tuberculosis and Differential Diagnosis

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis is a form of vasculitis that affects the kidneys and the lower and upper respiratory tracts, and progresses with pathologically necrotizing granulomatous inflammation.Patients can present with such nonspecific symptoms as malaise, fever, weight loss and hemoptysis.Diagnosis is based on radiological, pathological and laboratory examinations.Lung involvement usually presents in the form of bilateral nodules, and cavitary lesions and pulmonary infiltrates may also be seen.Tuberculosis and granulomatosis with polyangiitis share common clinical symptoms, radiological findings and immunopathological features.In our country, where the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is high, necrotizing granulomatous inflammation are often evaluated initially as TB.We present here two cases of nodular lung disease to draw attention to the need for careful differential diagnosis between granulomatosis with polyangiitis and tuberculosis.