Study on association of cutaneous tuberculosis with pulmonary tuberculosis

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis continues to be a health problem in many countries. There may be simultaneous multiple organ involvement. Diagnosis of one organ disease may lead to missing off diagnosis of other organ involvement.Objectives: The present study was done to analyze the association of cutaneous tuberculosis with pulmonary tuberculosis.Material and methods: Through purposive sampling a total of 23 patients of suspected cutaneous tuberculosis were primarily enrolled in this cross sectional study. History was taken and examinations were done to find out types of cutaneous lesions and to explore a pulmonary involvement. Investigations including CBC with ESR, Mantoux test and Skin biopsy were done for each and every patient. Those who had cutaneous tuberculosis on histopathology chest x-ray were done to detect pulmonary lesions. After investigations 2 patients were excluded due to absence of tubercular infection. Finally 21 patients were included in this study. Data were collected in a predesigned structured questionnaire.Results: Out of 21 patients 16 (76.19%) were male and 5(23.81%) were female with a male to female ratio of 3.2:1. Age range varies from 5-70 years with a mean of 29.76±18.2 years. MT was positive in 76.20% of patients. CXR showed 23.81% of the patients with cutaneous TB had simultaneous pulmonary involvement. The association is statistically significant (p<0.05).Conclusions: Patients with Cutaneous tuberculosis may have pulmonary involvement in a statistically significant number. In any patient with cutaneous TB, meticulous systemic examinations and relevant investigations have to be done to explore pulmonary involvement. DOI: 10.3329/bmrcb.v36i2.6988Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2010; 36: 57-60

Evolution of cutaneous tuberculosis over the past 30 years in a tertiary hospital on the European Mediterranean coast

“…Between 19% and 35% of patients with cutaneous TB also have TB simultaneously in internal organs 1,17,22 . For this reason, cutaneous TB can be considered a sign of possible visceral tuberculous infection, which may indicate a poor prognosis, and patients can therefore benefit from early diagnosis and treatment.…”

“…Between 19% and 35% of patients with cutaneous TB also have TB simultaneously in internal organs. 1,17,22 For this reason, cutaneous TB can be considered a sign of possible visceral tuberculous infection, which may indicate a poor prognosis, and patients can therefore benefit from early diagnosis and treatment. In our study, 14 of the 36 patients simultaneously developed TB in internal organs (38.88%), and 4 of these died as a result of infection by M. tuberculosis.…”

“…1 Since then, the incidence of cutaneous TB has declined progressively in industrially developed countries, [2][3][4] with very few cases reported in Europe in recent decades. [4][5][6][7] However, infections by Mycobacterium tuberculosis are still common on some continents, 8 and relatively large series of cutaneous TB cases are currently being reported across Asia [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] and Africa. [20][21][22][23][24] Moreover, it has been suggested that factors such as HIV infection and migration may be contributing to a new increase in the incidence of cutaneous TB in Europe.…”

Cutaneous and Pulmonary Tuberculosis—Diagnostic and Therapeutic Difficulties in a Patient with Autoimmunity

“…CTB is rarely the primary form of MTBC infection, and is usually a consequence of infection caused by primary PTB, or a manifestation of systemic involvement. Due to this fact, the diagnosis of a patient with suspected CTB should also consider pulmonary involvement [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ].…”

Ulcerative Lupus Vulgaris on the Wrist

“…Although visceral TB is rare with concomitant cutaneous TB, when it develops, it is common in the form of scrofuloderma or LV [ 4 ]. The most common active internal TB forms associated with skin TB are pulmonary TB and tuberculous adenitis [ 5 ]. In our patient, we found no signs of pulmonary TB or tuberculous adenitis, but consideration of concurrent organ involvement contributed to the identification of pulmonary TB and tuberculous lymphadenitis, leading to appropriate and timely treatment.…”