Manifestations of tuberculosis in otorhinolaryngology practice

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli (MB). Head and neck TB is a rare pathology, although its incidence worldwide is increasing. The most commonly affected sites are cervical lymph nodes and larynx, which each account for around 1% of TB cases. Rare incidences of aural, nasopharyngeal, paranasal sinuses and salivary gland TB are reported. The cases of tuberculosis in otorhinolaryngology in Lithuania were not previously explored. Aim : To analyze the cases of tuberculosis in otorhinolaryngology treated in the Hospital of LUHS in 2013-2017, their presentation and to compare with the current data in scientific literature. Methods : Retrospective study of 12 cases, treated for the ENT TB between 2013- 2017, was conducted. Patient files were analyzed and relevant data extracted: age at diagnosis, sex, main disease, concurrent diseases, results of microbiological sputum culture for MB, history of contact with TB, history of prior TB disease, symptom duration prior to diagnosis. The study was approved by The Bioethics Center in Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (BEC–MF –220). The scientific literature was searched using MEDLINE-PUBMED search engine and articles from years 2006-2017 were analyzed and compared with our results. Results: We‘ve found a total of 12 cases: 7 men and 5 women. Mean age was 62,4±17,9. 7 cases had confirmed laryngeal TB and 5 cases cervical TB lymphadenitis. In 4 instances there was active pulmonary TB, 3 cases had evidence of previous disease and 5 cases had isolated ENT TB. In laryngeal TB the most common symptoms were hoarseness, dry cough, sore throat and painful swallowing. In cervical TB lymphadenitis the most common symptoms were fatigue, painful swallowing, malaise, discomfort in the neck. Symptom duration prior to diagnosis ranged from 2 weeks to 3 years. All lesions had biopsies performed and showed evedence[...].