Tuberculosis of tongue: Report of a rare case

Tuberculosis is a common infectious disease that is caused by mycobacteria, primarily Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis most commonly affects the lungs. Tongue tuberculosis is very rarely described in the literature. Tongue tuberculosis can be primary with no evidence of involvement of other organs, especially the lungs, or, more commonly, secondary to pulmonary tuberculosis. The occurrence of tuberculosis of tongue as a primary lesion is quite rare and invariably the condition is associated with pulmonary or laryngeal tuberculosis. In this article, a 58-year-old male reported to us with two months history of a painful ulcerated lesion on his tongue and respiratory symptoms. Chest radiograph showed bilateral infiltrates and multiple cavities in the upper and middle lung fields. Tongue biopsy revealed granuloma, which is typical for tuberculosis, and his sputum smear was positive for acid fast bacilli. The patient was started on a regimen of isoniazide, rifampicine, pyrazinamide and ethambutol. The tongue completely healed within a month. In conclusion, tuberculosis should be taken into consideration in differential diagnosis of chronic ulcerative tongue lesions.