Reactivation of pulmonary tuberculosis due to trauma.

A 53-year-old man developed pulmonary tuberculosis, presumably reactivation, with ten days of sustaining multiple fractured ribs. Tuberculous bronchopneumonia developed in the right lung adjacent to the site of injury and spread to the contralateral lung. Sputum smears were positive for acid-fast bacilli three weeks after trauma. Theories for the reactivation of pulmonary tuberculosis secondary to trauma are reviewed.