title: Base of Tongue Tuberculosis: A Case Report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that has displayed increasing incidence in the last decades. It is estimated that up to 20% of tuberculosis cases affect extra-pulmonary organs. In the ENT area, soft palate and tongue are the least probable locations.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 62-year-old female with a history of rheumatoid arthritis and treatment with corticosteroids and Adalimumab, developed a foreign body sensation in the pharynx accompanied by a sore throat and halitosis. The laryngoscopy with a 70 degree rigid telescope showed an ulcerated hypertrophic lesion in the right vallecula of about 2-3 cm in the base of the tongue. Acid-alcohol resistant bacilli were found positive for M. tuberculosis, through the Ziehl Neelsen method and Löwenstein culture the patient was treated with tuberculostatic medication.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TB is a possible diagnosis when in the presence of an ulcerated lesion at the base of the tongue, accompanied by sore throat, dysphagia, or foreign body sensation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head & Neck, University Hospital of Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos Miguel
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chiesa Estomba
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head & Neck, University Hospital of Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana Sofia
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Araujo da Costa
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head & Neck, University Hospital of Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain.
authors.forename: Teresa Rivera
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Schmitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology- Head & Neck, University Hospital of Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain.
authors.forename: Pedro Vaamonde
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Lago
keywords: Pharynx; Tongue; Tuberculosis