Disseminated tuberculosis in a renal transplant recipient presenting as a non-healing skin ulcer. A case report

Abstract

Cutaneous tuberculosis in renal allograft recipients is rare. A 33 year old recipient of a second renal allograft developed a painless ulcer on the left foot two months after surgery, followed by the appearance of a cold abscess in the left inguinal region. Smear from the pus aspirated from this abscess revealed acid fast bacilli, and biopsy from the edge of the ulcer showed an epithelioid cell granuloma with Langhans type of giant cells. X-ray of the chest revealed miliary mottling in both lung fields. Antitubercular therapy lead to a complete resolution of the tuberculous lesions.