A Case of Laryngeal Tuberculosis

Abstract

Laryngeal tuberculosis, once a common disease, has become quite rare after the introduction and use of specific antibiotic therapy against tuberculosis. In contrast to the pre-chemotherapy era, the clinical presentation of laryngeal tuberculosis is now changing. The case of a 79 year-old woman with laryngeal tuberculosis is described. The patient presented with a chief complaint of hoarseness of four months duration, and had granulomatous changes in her right false vocal fold. Biopsies for the histological diagnosis were performed, and laryngeal tuberculosis was suspected. Finally, the diagnosis was established by the identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the sputum and a tissue sample. The granulomatous lesion responded well to treatment with anti-tuberculous chemotherapy. Granulomatous lesions of the larynx should alert the otolaryngologist to consider laryngeal tuberculosis in the differential diagnosis.