Case report, case study
CUTANEOUS TUBERCULOSIS IN AN IMMUNOCOMPETENT TWENTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD MAN
BELMA PARALIJA
orcid.org/0000-0001-7556-671X
; Department of Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis, University of Sarajevo Clinical Center, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Faculty of Medicine, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
*
ELVIRA ABDIĆ
orcid.org/0009-0008-5598-7400
; Dr Irfan Ljubijankić Cantonal Hospital, Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina
JASMINA MUSTAFIĆ PANDŽIĆ
orcid.org/0009-0009-4074-151X
; Department of Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis, University of Sarajevo Clinical Center, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
Cutaneous tuberculosis is a rare form of tuberculosis. Considering the numerous skin manifestations that differ not only in clinical
features but also in the way the infection reaches the skin, cutaneous tuberculosis is a great challenge for diagnosis. We present a case of cutaneous tuberculosis in a 21-year-old male migrant from Pakistan, hospitalized at the Department of Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis, Sarajevo University Clinical Center due to recurrent abscesses, furuncles and carbuncles of the left thigh and right forearm, that persisted for the past year and were treated with various antibiotics. Pus obtained by abscess incision, wound
swabs of the left thigh, and skin tissue obtained by biopsy were sent for microbiological and Mycobacterium (M.) tuberculosis
analysis. Wound swabs and skin tissue culture were positive for M. tuberculosis on solid (Löwenstein) and liquid (MGIT) medium.
Sputum smear and culture for M. tuberculosis were negative. Chest x-ray also was without active pathomorphological changes.
Antituberculosis therapy was started with four drugs (isoniazid, ethambutol, pyrazinamide, rifampicin). In addition to antituberculosis therapy, the wound of the left thigh required surgical treatment. The patient was successfully treated with antituberculosis therapy along with surgical treatment of skin changes and their healing. The diagnosis of cutaneous tuberculosis in our patient was established after a long period and after the failure of antibiotic treatment. Proper diagnosis of cutaneous tuberculosis is very important since it can be well treated with common antituberculosis therapy.
Keywords
cutaneous tuberculosis, diagnosis, treatment
Hrčak ID:
310560
URI
Publication date:
22.11.2023.
Visits: 815 *