Large pulmonary solitary mass caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis mimicking a malignant tumor in a child

Tuberculoma, as a common characteristic of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in adults, is rarely seen in children. We report a very rare case of large pulmonary solitary mass caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a 7-year-old boy, which was misdiagnosed for malignant lung tumor before the biopsy. Pathology and the following test proved it to be active TB. We also review the CT characteristics of TB and common thoracic neoplasms in children for differential diagnosis. We call for the awareness of the atypical imaging characteristics of TB in children.