Clinical aspects of tonsillar tuberculosis

Abstract

A clinical analysis of 6 patients with pathologically confirmed tonsillar tuberculosis was carried out retrospectively. The subjects comprised three men and three women, ranging in age from 20 to 74 years. All of the patients presented with a sore throat and 5 had lymphadenopathy. Ulcerations, masses and white patches characterized the tonsillar lesions; the pathological findings included caseous granuloma with positive acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in 5 patients and chronic granulomatous inflammation with negative AFB in one patient. Four of the six patients had pulmonary tuberculosis. The three patients who received complete treatment responded well. The presenting symptoms and abnormal tonsillar findings associated with tonsillar tuberculosis are similar to those of malignant tumors and therefore it is difficult to differentiate the two pathologies; moreover, tonsillar tuberculosis often occurs with pulmonary tuberculosis and AIDS and therefore, a chest X-ray and HIV-screening are recommended for all patients with tonsillar tuberculosis.