A clinicoepidemiological study of 50 cases of cutaneous tuberculosis in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Pokhara, Nepal

Abstract

Background:Cutaneous tuberculosis (TB) is essentially an invasion of the skin by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the same bacteria that causes pulmonary tuberculosis.Aim:This study was conducted to study the common types of cutaneous TB and to find the management pattern in a tertiary teaching hospital in Pokhara, Nepal.Materials and Methods:All the cases of cutaneous TB were biopsied and furthermore investigated by performing Mantoux test, sputum examination, fine needle aspiration cytology, chest X-ray and ELISA.Results:In this study, we found that tuberculosis verrucous cutis (48%) had a higher incidence than other types of cutaneous TB. More males were affected than were females (1.2:1). Commonly affected sites were the limb and the buttock (48%). The most commonly affected age group was 16–25 years (40%). All cases (except two) were more than 15 mm in size in the Mantoux test. The histopathological picture was typical in all except three cases. All patients were treated with antitubercular treatment as per the national guidelines.Conclusion:The most common type of cutaneous TB was tuberculosis verrucous cutis and the most commonly affected sites were the limb and the buttock. As cutaneous TB sometimes reflects the presence of pulmonary tuberculosis, its incidence should not be ignored.

A clinicoepidemiological study of cutaneous tuberculosis in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Andhra Pradesh, India

“…7,8,20 Typical histopathological changes were seen in 90% of cases similar to other Indian studies. 20 Duration of antitubercular therapy [ATT] for cutaneous tuberculosis ranged from 6-12 months in different studies. [20][21][22] We employed DOTS therapy which was given for 6 months.…”

“…20 Duration of antitubercular therapy [ATT] for cutaneous tuberculosis ranged from 6-12 months in different studies. [20][21][22] We employed DOTS therapy which was given for 6 months.…”

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

“…LV is the predominant form in the majority of studies in adults and in the general population of India and Pakistan 11,12,15 . In Nepal, the most common form is warty TB 18 . Warty TB was also the most common form in Hong Kong in 1968, 27 but in more recent studies, LV was the most prevalent type 10,16 .…”

“…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 Tuberculosis: A Differential for Chronic Nonhealing Ulcer

“…4 The patients treated with standard anti-tubercular regimen responded well to treatment and had no recurrence on follow up of 1-3 years. 5,6 CONCLUSION: Cutaneous tuberculosis should be kept as a differential diagnosis for chronic nonhealing ulcer, even in the absence of evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis. Appropriate diagnosis may need a repeat skin biopsy.…”