A Fatal Case of Anti-PL-7 Antibody-Associated Rapidly Progressive Interstitial Lung Disease Complicated by Tuberculosis: A Case Report

The anti-PL-7 antibody is an anti-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase antibody. Patients who test positive for anti-PL-7 antibodies present with various clinical symptoms, including myositis, polyarthritis, and interstitial lung disease (ILD). The anti-PL-7 antibody also causes rapidly progressive ILD (RP-ILD), which may be fatal. In this report, we present the case of a 92-year-old woman with anti-PL-7 antibody-positive RP-ILD, complicated by <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> infection. Treatment for anti-PL-7 antibody-positive RP-ILD typically requires combination therapy with corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agents; however, we were unable to escalate immunosuppression due to concomitant <i>M. tuberculosis</i> infection, and the patient died due to respiratory failure. To our knowledge, this is the first report to present the progression of chest computed tomography findings and clinical course of anti-PL-7 antibody-positive RP-ILD complicated by pulmonary tuberculosis. Anti-PL-7 antibody-positive RP-ILD complicated by pulmonary tuberculosis can be fatal. Therefore, clinicians should closely monitor for pulmonary tuberculosis in anti-PL-7 antibody-positive ILD and provide preventive treatment when appropriate.