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Case Report
Cutaneous tuberculosis: An infrequent manifestation of a common pathogen in South Africa
Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases | Vol 38, No 1 | a526 |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajid.v38i1.526
| © 2023 Jennifer K. van Heerden, Alistair G.B. Broadhurst, Ruan S. de Jager, Wesley du Plessis, Nabilah Ebrahim, Ayanda T. Mnguni, Denzil Schietekat, Graeme Meintjes
| This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 21 March 2023 | Published: 13 June 2023
Submitted: 21 March 2023 | Published: 13 June 2023
About the author(s)
Jennifer K. van Heerden, Department of Internal Medicine, Khayelitsha District Hospital, Western Cape Department of Health, Cape Town, South Africa; and, Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaAlistair G.B. Broadhurst, Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
Ruan S. de Jager, Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
Wesley du Plessis, Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
Nabilah Ebrahim, Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
Ayanda T. Mnguni, Department of Internal Medicine, Khayelitsha District Hospital, Western Cape Department of Health, Cape Town, South Africa
Denzil Schietekat, Department of Internal Medicine, Khayelitsha District Hospital, Western Cape Department of Health, Cape Town, South Africa
Graeme Meintjes, Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; and, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
Abstract
Cutaneous tuberculosis is an infrequent form of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, even in high-prevalence settings. We present the case of a patient living with advanced HIV who developed extensive cutaneous tuberculosis. The polymorphic skin lesions were the most striking clinical manifestation of underlying disseminated tuberculosis.
Contribution: This case report highlights an unusual presentation of tuberculosis. Cutaneous tuberculosis has a wide spectrum of clinical presentations and may be under-recognised by clinicians. We recommend early biopsy for microbiological diagnosis.
Keywords
cutaneous tuberculosis; human immunodeficiency virus; HIV; tuberculosis; TB; South Africa
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