ORAL TUBERCULOSIS: A CASE REPORT

Abstract

Oral tuberculosis (TB) manifestations are uncommon and usually secondary to pulmonary changes. A 41-year-old male patient presented with the chief complaint of a painful ulcer on tip of his tongue. He reported that the ulcer developed without any remarkable event such as mechanical trauma, vesicle formation, or systemic illness. There was history of cough, fever, and chest pain. Chest x-ray and samples of acid-fast bacilli were positive. A biopsy was performed, and histological finding showed typical findings of oral TB including intense granulomatous inflammatory features with small red rods of mycobacterial organisms as well as epithelioid cells and Langerhans giant cells. After suitable antituberculosis treatments, the oral TB ulcer was almost completely healed after 1 year. We present a case of oral TB affecting the tip of the tongue in a patient with pulmonary TB and emphasize the understanding of intraoral manifestations for early diagnosis and prompt treatment of TB. Oral tuberculosis (TB) manifestations are uncommon and usually secondary to pulmonary changes. A 41-year-old male patient presented with the chief complaint of a painful ulcer on tip of his tongue. He reported that the ulcer developed without any remarkable event such as mechanical trauma, vesicle formation, or systemic illness. There was history of cough, fever, and chest pain. Chest x-ray and samples of acid-fast bacilli were positive. A biopsy was performed, and histological finding showed typical findings of oral TB including intense granulomatous inflammatory features with small red rods of mycobacterial organisms as well as epithelioid cells and Langerhans giant cells. After suitable antituberculosis treatments, the oral TB ulcer was almost completely healed after 1 year. We present a case of oral TB affecting the tip of the tongue in a patient with pulmonary TB and emphasize the understanding of intraoral manifestations for early diagnosis and prompt treatment of TB.