Abstract
The present study aimed to establish the frequency and clinical characteristics of cutaneous tuberculosis among Mexican adult patients. Ninety-five patients with clinically compatible lesions to cutaneous tuberculosis participated in the study. All patients were HIV negative and none of them had previous anti-TB treatment. A skin biopsy was taken from every patient suspected of having tuberculosis, and a histopathologic examination was performed as follows: Ziehl-Neelsen staining; culturing of mycobacteria by Löwenstein-Jensen (L-J) medium; Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube detection via BACTEC (MGIT-360); and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with the sequence of insertion IS6110 for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Tuberculosis was confirmed in 65 out of 95 cases (68.4%). Identified lesions were scrofuloderma (42 cases, 64.6%); lupus vulgaris (12 cases, 18.4%); warty tuberculosis (six cases, 9.2%); and papulonecrotic tuberculoid (five cases; 7.7%). The Ziehl-Neelsen staining was positive for acid fast bacilli in nine cases (13.8%) and 48 patients were positive for the PCR amplification (73.8%). All skin biopsies resulted positive for tuberculosis. A positive clinical response to the specific treatment was considered a confirmation for tuberculosis. The noninfectious etiology corresponded to 30 cases (31.6%). Tuberculosis in developing countries is still an important cause of skin lesions which must be studied via histopathological examination and culture due to their low bacillary load. A PCR test is necessary to obtain faster confirmation of the disease and to establish an early, specific and effective treatment.
Highlights
The present study aimed to establish the frequency and clinical characteristics of cutaneous tuberculosis among Mexican adult patients
Among the 95 cases, 65 patients aged between 15 and 70 years old were diagnosed with cutaneous tuberculosis, of whom 51 were female and 14 male
Strains corresponded to Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (Table 1)
Summary
The present study aimed to establish the frequency and clinical characteristics of cutaneous tuberculosis among Mexican adult patients. A positive clinical response to the specific treatment was considered a confirmation for tuberculosis. Conclusions: Tuberculosis in developing countries is still an important cause of skin lesions which must be studied via histopathological examination and culture due to their low bacillary load. In Mexico, 15,000 new cases of tuberculosis and 2,000 deaths caused by this illness are identified every year. This evident increase is notable for its common association with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and chronic degenerative diseases such as diabetes mellitus. Cutaneous tuberculosis is a chronic disease caused when Mycobacterium tuberculosis directly infects previously non-exposed skin. Tuberculous chancre and the affected lymph node constitute the primary tuberculous complex [2]
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