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Observational Study
. 2016 Jul 11:58:49.
doi: 10.1590/S1678-9946201658049.

CUTANEOUS TUBERCULOSIS: A 26-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE STUDY IN AN ENDEMIC AREA OF TUBERCULOSIS, VITÓRIA, ESPÍRITO SANTO, BRAZIL

Karla Spelta  1 , Lucia M Diniz  1   2
Affiliations
Observational Study

CUTANEOUS TUBERCULOSIS: A 26-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE STUDY IN AN ENDEMIC AREA OF TUBERCULOSIS, VITÓRIA, ESPÍRITO SANTO, BRAZIL

Karla Spelta et al. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. .

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis is a serious health problem in Brazil so that the knowledge on the aspects of cutaneous tuberculosis is medically important.

Objective: To assess the characteristics of patients with cutaneous tuberculosis treated at the Cassiano Antonio Moraes University Hospital, located in the city of Vitória, State of Espírito Santo, Brazil.

Methods: This is a retrospective, descriptive, observational and cross-sectional study using the medical records of 29 patients with cutaneous tuberculosis treated at the Dermatology and Pulmonology services of the hospital from 1986 to 2011. The inclusion criterion was the confirmation of cutaneous tuberculosis taking into account clinical, epidemiological, immunological, and bacteriological findings, as well as the response to specific treatment.

Results: Of the 29 studied patients; 18 (62%) were women with average age of 37 years; the predominant clinical condition was erythema induratum of Bazin in 12 (41.4%) cases; and the cutaneous lesions were in the lower limbs in 19 (65.8%) patients. Extra-cutaneous involvement occurred in eight (27.6%) cases. The tuberculin tests were positive in 15 (79%) individuals and the assessment of the infectious agent was negative in most of the investigated cases.

Conclusion: The study found a low frequency (0.44%) of cutaneous tuberculosis in an endemic area of tuberculosis. There was a predominance of infection in women aged thirty to forty years. Erythema induratum was the most common clinical condition, affecting mainly the lower limbs, in contrast to other Brazilian studies that found scrofuloderma as the most common manifestation, predominating in the cervical region of male children and adolescents.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST The authors have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Correlation of the clinical forms of cutaneous tuberculosis according to the location of the cutaneous lesions, in the patients of the study.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. A patient's histopathological examination showing lobular hypodermitis and nodular vasculitis. (a) Image with lower magnification (H&E, x40). (b) Image with higher magnification (H&E,x400)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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