Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's granulomatosis) is a systemic disease caused the ensuing necrosis and granuloma formation. Contrary to tuberculosis, the aetiology of the disease is not known. Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Despite different aetiology, clinical symptoms in pa­tients suffering from granulomatosis with polyangiitis or from tuberculosis are often similar and this may cause diagnostic problems. The problem becomes more difficult due to the fact that tuberculosis infection can induce formation of antibodies, e.g. anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs), which are used as markers in the diagnosis of other diseases including vasculitis.
In the paper the authors describe the case of a patient suffering from granulomatosis with polyangiitis, whose latent tuberculosis infection progressed to tuberculosis disease while undergoing immunosuppressive treatment.