Dhotre SV, Dhotre PS, Gavkare AM, Nagoba BS. Diagnostic perspectives on mixed connective tissue disease with tuberculosis overlap. World J Clin Cases 2026; 14(3): 117076 [DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v14.i3.117076]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Basavraj S Nagoba, PhD, Assistant Dean, Professor, Department of Microbiology, Maharashtra Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (Medical College), Vishwanathpuram, Ambajogai Road, Latur 413531, Maharashtra, India. dr_bsnagoba@yahoo.com
Research Domain of This Article
Infectious Diseases
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Jan 26, 2026; 14(3): 117076 Published online Jan 26, 2026. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v14.i3.117076
Diagnostic perspectives on mixed connective tissue disease with tuberculosis overlap
Shree V Dhotre, Pradnya S Dhotre, Ajay M Gavkare, Basavraj S Nagoba
Shree V Dhotre, Department of Microbiology, Ashwini Rural Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Solapur 413006, Maharashtra, India
Pradnya S Dhotre, Department of Biochemistry, Ashwini Rural Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Solapur 413006, Maharashtra, India
Ajay M Gavkare, Department of Physiology, Government Medical College, Buldhana 443001, Maharashtra, India
Basavraj S Nagoba, Department of Microbiology, Maharashtra Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (Medical College), Latur 413531, Maharashtra, India
Co-first authors: Shree V Dhotre and Pradnya S Dhotre.
Author contributions: Dhotre SV conceptualized and designed the study, developed the study outline, and coordinated manuscript preparation; Dhotre SV, Dhotre PS, and Nagoba BS made substantial contributions to the study design, data interpretation, and critical discussion of the manuscript; Dhotre SV and Nagoba BS drafted, critically revised, and edited the manuscript for important intellectual content and contributed to the literature review; all authors approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Basavraj S Nagoba, PhD, Assistant Dean, Professor, Department of Microbiology, Maharashtra Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (Medical College), Vishwanathpuram, Ambajogai Road, Latur 413531, Maharashtra, India. dr_bsnagoba@yahoo.com
Received: November 28, 2025 Revised: December 29, 2025 Accepted: January 14, 2026 Published online: January 26, 2026 Processing time: 56 Days and 0.9 Hours
Abstract
The recently published case report describing mixed connective tissue disease coexisting with tuberculosis (TB) provides an important contribution to the growing literature on complex autoimmune–infectious disease interactions. This letter expands on the diagnostic challenges highlighted by the authors by defining its added clinical value: Identifying practical diagnostic “red flags”, emphasizing parallel consideration of autoimmunity and infection, and proposing a pragmatic approach to evaluation in TB-endemic settings. Early immunological testing, differentiated pulmonary assessment, and multidisciplinary decision-making are essential when overlapping features obscure timely diagnosis and complicate therapeutic choices.
Core Tip: This letter highlights practical diagnostic insights beyond the original case, including clinical red flags that should prompt reconsideration of a tuberculosis-only diagnosis, the value of early autoimmune serology, and the importance of parallel diagnostic pathways in tuberculosis-endemic regions.
