Emphysematous Pyelonephritis Revealing Underlying Renal Tuberculosis: A Rare and Challenging Association
Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) is a severe, necrotising infection of the renal parenchyma and surrounding tissues, most often accompanied by diabetes mellitus and Gram-negative bacilli. Tuberculosis superinfection is very rare, with only a few cases reported in the literature. We present the case of a 61-year-old woman with multiple comorbidities, in whom emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) was primarily due to typical bacterial pathogens and subsequently complicated by a superinfection with <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>, highlighting the importance of recognizing this unusual secondary infection to avoid unnecessary nephrectomy.
Authors
- Abdessamade Motaouakil
- Anass El Alaoui
- Anouar El Moudane
- Ali Barki
- Mohammed Ramdani
Institutions
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Mohammed VI (MA)
- Mohamed I University (MA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cureus
- Published
- 2025-12-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.100462
- Primary Topic
- Infectious Disease Case Reports and Treatments
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00