Cutaneous Tuberculosis In a Region of Southeast of Turkey

Background: Cutaneous tuberculosis is a rare form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. The diagnosis of cutaneous tuberculosis may be difficult because of several clinical features. The aim of this study is to determine the clinical manifestations of the cutaneous tuberculosis in a region of the Southeast of Turkey during ten years. Material and Methods: Data of patients from 2000 to 2009 were collected and analysed as follows; age, sex, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccination, tuberculin skin testing, type of cutaneous tuberculosis, histopatologic results, microbiologic results, chest X-rays, and used drug regimens. Results: During 10 years 40 patients with cutaneous tuberculosis were identified. The mean age was 35.2±18.4 years. The male / female ratio was 0.66. Nine patients (22.5%) had a contact history with pulmonary tuberculosis patients. The skin lesion duration prior to diagnosis ranged from 2 months to 16 years. Tuberculin skin testing reactivity was positive in 27 patients and negative in 13 patients. Lupus vulgaris was diagnosed in 30 patients among all 40 cutaneous tuberculosis patients. The diagnosis of the scrofuloderma was made in 10 patients. Conclusion: Lupus vulgaris was detected as the most common type of cutaneous tuberculosis in this study. The diagnosis of the cutaneous tuberculosis is usually delayed due to the wide variety of clinical presentations.