A Rare Complication of Oropharyngeal Tularemia: Dacryocystitis

Abstract

Tularemia is a zoonotic disease caused by Francisella tularensis, a highly virulent gram-negative coccobacillus. Oropharyngeal tularemia, one of the clinical subtypes, is the most common clinical form of the disease in Eastern Europe, including Turkey. This clinical form affects mostly the head and neck region and the most common complaints of patients are mass in the neck, sore throat, and fever. This form of tularemia may be confused with tonsillitis, pharyngitis, or cervical lymphadenitis caused by other microbial agents due to the nonspecific clinical and laboratory features. In this study, we present a patient with nasolacrimal duct obstruction and dacryocystitis caused by oropharyngeal tularemia.