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You wouldn t think that a swollen pinky finger should warrant much worry. But for one woman in California, it turned out to be a sign of a rare manifestation of tuberculosis, according to a new report on the case, published in the
New England Journal of Medicine.
The 42-year-old went to the hospital after her finger had been swollen and painful for a week, though she had not injured it at all.
Doctors performed an X-ray and CT scan and found swelling in the soft tissue of her finger, but no issues with her bones. Only after doing a biopsy did they find Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis.