Lingual tuberculosis: a rare disease in Western countries.
Here we report on two consecutive cases of tuberculosis in immunocompetent HIV-negative patients with lingual lesions. In both patients diagnosis was delayed. Disease progressed involving the lungs, lymph nodes and also the brain. Both patients are disease-free at 30 and 22 month follow-up respectively. Isolated Mycobacterium tuberculosis from these patients was multi-susceptible. Tuberculosis lesions of the oral cavity and brain are infrequently diagnosed in immunocompetent subjects from Western countries. Clinicians must take into greater consideration tuberculosis as a possible diagnosis when diagnosing chronic and/or recurrent lingual lesions even in the absence of pulmonary lesions.
Department of Experimental Medicine and Biochemical Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy. pasticci@unipg.it
Maria Bruna
MB
Pasticci
Piero
P
Floridi
Elisabetta
E
Schiaroli
Gian Maria
GM
Stagni
Giuseppe Vittorio
GV
De Socio
Fabrizio
F
Longari
Franco
F
Baldelli
D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D035583:Rare Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D014059:Tongue / Q000382:microbiology*; D014060:Tongue Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D014393:Tuberculosis, Oral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*