Tuberc Respir Dis.  2009 Oct;67(4):356-358.

A Case of Oral Tuberculosis Confirmed by Histopathology

• Lee J
• Park YS
• Lim HJ
• Kwak MS
• Lim WH
• Yim JJ
• Yang SC
• Yoo CG
• Kim YW
• Han SK
• Shim YS
• Lee SM

Abstract

Although tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease that can occur in any section of the body, oral tuberculosis is rare. Here, we report a case of oral tuberculosis in which the patient sought treatment for a painful oral lesion. A histopathologic examination revealed the characteristics of tuberculosis and pulmonary lesions were detected on subsequent examination. The patient was treated with antituberculosis therapy, and his symptoms improved. This case emphasizes the importance of including oral tuberculosis as part of the differential diagnosis for mucosal lesions.

Keyword

Tuberculosis; Mouth; Histopathology

MeSH Terms

Communicable Diseases
Diagnosis, Differential
Humans
Mouth
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, Oral

Figure

• 

  Figure 1 Baseline chest radiography showed multiple cavities in both lung with patchy consolidation.

• 

  Figure 2 Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain in the soft palate tissue obtained by punch biopsy showed chronic granulomatous inflammation with multinucleated giant cells (H&E stain, ×200).

• 

  Figure 3 Acid fast bacilli staining of biopsy specimen revealed several acid-fast bacilli (AFB stain, ×1,000).

Reference

1. Mignogna MD, Muzio LL, Favia G, Ruoppo E, Sammartino G, Zarrelli C, et al. Oral tuberculosis: a clinical evaluation of 42 cases. Oral Dis. 2000. 6:25–30.

2. Kim KR, Kim MG, Choi SY, Lee YS, Chun MR, Shim JW, et al. A case of tongue tuberculosis with pulmonary tuberculosis. Korean J Med. 1997. 53:727–730.

3. Park YS, Jung DG, Choi YC, Koo Y. A case of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal tuberculosis. Korean J Otolaryngol - Head Neck Surg. 1998. 41:809–812.

4. Shin HS, Kang NY, Hong KY, Kim SY, Park BI. A case report of oropharyngeal tuberculosis. Tuberc Respir Dis. 1987. 34:168–171.

5. Cho JY, In KH, Ahn TH, Yoo ZM, Kang KH, Yoo SH. Three cases of oropharyngeal tuberculosis. Tuberc Respir Dis. 1989. 36:387–390.

6. Prabhu SR, Wilson DF, Daftary DK, Johnson NW. Oral diseases in the tropics. 1992. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

7. Ebenezer J, Samuel R, Mathew GC, Koshy S, Chacko RK, Jesudason MV. Primary oral tuberculosis: report of two cases. Indian J Dent Res. 2006. 17:41–44.

8. Abbott JN, Briney AT, Denaro SA. Recovery of tubercle bacilli from mouth washings of tuberculous dental patients. J Am Dent Assoc. 1955. 50:49–52.

9. Sharma CG, Pradeep AR, Karthikeyan BV. Primary tuberculosis clinically presenting as gingival enlargement: a case report. J Contemp Dent Pract. 2006. 7:108–114.

10. Eng HL, Lu SY, Yang CH, Chen WJ. Oral tuberculosis. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 1996. 81:415–420.

11. Hashimoto Y, Tanioka H. Primary tuberculosis of the tongue: report of a case. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 1989. 47:744–746.

12. Turbiner S, Giunta J, Maloney PL. Orificial tuberculosis of the lip. J Oral Surg. 1975. 33:443–447.

13. Rauch DM, Friedman E. Systemic tuberculosis initially seen as an oral ulceration: report of case. J Oral Surg. 1978. 36:387–389.

14. Laskaris G. Oral manifestations of infectious diseases. Dent Clin North Am. 1996. 40:395–423.

15. Prabhu SR, Daftary DK, Dholakia HM. Tuberculous ulcer of the tongue: report of case. J Oral Surg. 1978. 36:384–386.