Post tuberculosis obstructive airway disease: an underdiagnosed complication of pulmonary tuberculosis

Pulmonary infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a well-known morbidity in Sri Lanka, where tuberculosis (TB) is endemic, and it poses huge challenge to the healthcare system. A number of pulmonary complications occur following pulmonary TB. Post TB obstructive airway disease is one of them but under diagnosed in susceptible individuals, which results in presentation of patients at advanced disease with its complications, leading to poor patient outcome and quality of life. Here we report a case history of a patient who had past history of bacteriologically positive pulmonary TB, presented to us with advanced obstructive airway disease and its complications.