title: A case of lupus vulgaris successfully treated with antituberculous therapy despite negative PCR and culture.
abstract: A 14-year-old boy presented with a pink firm plaque with well-defined borders in the right infra-orbital skin area. On diascopy, the infiltrate exhibited a typical apple-jelly appearance. No acid-fast bacilli could be demonstrated. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay did not reveal the presence of mycobacteria in a lesional biopsy sample. Culture of biopsied tissue on Loewenstein-Jensen medium was negative. Although the tuberculosis culture and PCR did not confirm tuberculosis, a diagnosis of lupus vulgaris was made considering the clinical and histopathological findings. After a 9-month antituberculous therapy, the lesion disappeared. We believe that a diagnosis of lupus vulgaris still depends more on clinical and histopathological findings than on tuberculosis culture or PCR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gulsen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Akoglu
authors.forename: Aysen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karaduman
authors.forename: Gonca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Boztepe
authors.forename: Ozay
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ozkaya
authors.forename: Sedef
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sahin
authors.forename: Gul
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Erkin
authors.forename: Fikret
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kolemen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D005145:Face; D006801:Humans; D008177:Lupus Vulgaris / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents