title: [Current panorama in the diagnosis of cutaneous tuberculosis].
abstract: Pulmonary and cutaneous tuberculosis are caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. According to data from the World Health Organization, there are around 8 million new cases per year.The incidence of cutaneous tuberculosis has risen in parallel with that of pulmonary tuberculosis, and coinfection by M tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus is considered to be one of the main causes. Current diagnostic methods for pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis are far from perfect, leading to a delay in starting appropriate therapy.We present a review of these diagnostic methods and of their use in the cutaneous forms. In conclusion,histopathologic findings and isolation of M tuberculosis in cultures of biopsy material or by polymerase chain reaction are the most useful diagnostic tools in cutaneous tuberculosis.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Dermatología, Hospital Universitario Dr. José Eleuterio González, UANL, Monterrey, México.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Almaguer-Chávez
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ocampo-Candiani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rendón
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014382:Tuberculosis, Cutaneous / Q000175:diagnosis*