A rare case of primary tuberculosis complex in the abdomen

Abstract

Cutaneous tuberculosis (CTB) is the rarest form of tuberculosis (TB). CTB cases account for less than 1% of all TB cases and about 15% of all extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) cases. CTB is rare even in communities where it is endemic. CTB has a variety of manifestations and can appear similar to other disease processes. Therefore, many clinicians have difficulty recognizing CTB because CTB is known to be a great imitator. We present an unusual case of CTB which happened to be a primary tuberculous complex (PTC) manifested as an ulcerated abdomen in a 33-year-old woman. Previous medications received showed no improvement and referred to the hospital for further treatment. Histopathology of the skin lesion showed fibrous connective tissue that contained granulomas composed by epithelioid histiocytes, lymphocytes, plasma cells, and multinucleated giant cells. Patients were given therapy in the form of a fixed-dose combination of antituberculosis drugs (fixed-dose combination/FDC) and vitamin B6. Despite being rare,PTC is important to consider in patients with suggestive clinical pictures of the infection.