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Case Reports
. 2015 May;27(80):239-42.

Base of Tongue Tuberculosis: A Case Report

Carlos Miguel Chiesa Estomba  1 , Ana Sofia Araujo da Costa  1 , Teresa Rivera Schmitz  1 , Pedro Vaamonde Lago  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Base of Tongue Tuberculosis: A Case Report

Carlos Miguel Chiesa Estomba et al. Iran J Otorhinolaryngol. 2015 May.

Abstract

Introduction: Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that has displayed increasing incidence in the last decades. It is estimated that up to 20% of tuberculosis cases affect extra-pulmonary organs. In the ENT area, soft palate and tongue are the least probable locations.

Case report: A 62-year-old female with a history of rheumatoid arthritis and treatment with corticosteroids and Adalimumab, developed a foreign body sensation in the pharynx accompanied by a sore throat and halitosis. The laryngoscopy with a 70 degree rigid telescope showed an ulcerated hypertrophic lesion in the right vallecula of about 2-3 cm in the base of the tongue. Acid-alcohol resistant bacilli were found positive for M. tuberculosis, through the Ziehl Neelsen method and Löwenstein culture the patient was treated with tuberculostatic medication.

Conclusion: TB is a possible diagnosis when in the presence of an ulcerated lesion at the base of the tongue, accompanied by sore throat, dysphagia, or foreign body sensation.

Keywords: Pharynx; Tongue; Tuberculosis.

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Figures

Fig1
Fig1
Laryngoscopy with a 70 degree rigid telescope showed an ulcerated lesion in the right vallecula of about 2-3cm based on a local hypertrophy of the base of the tongue
Fig 2
Fig 2
Cervical CT scan with a mass in the right vallecula contacting with the lateral posterior part of the tongue and partially obliterating the lumen of the aero-digestive way
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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