Introduction: Although the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in Japan has been decreasing yearly, Japan remains ranked as an intermediate-burden country for TB.
Objective: This study aims to investigate the current situation of laryngeal TB diagnosed in our department. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 12 patients diagnosed with laryngeal TB in our department between January 2005 and December 2014. The extracted data included sex and age distribution, chief complaint, presence or absence of concomitant active pulmonary TB (PTB) or a history of TB, interferongamma release assay (IGRA) results, and duration from the first visit to the ultimate diagnosis of laryngeal TB. Results: The subjects included 5 men and 7 women with ages ranging from 39 to 79 years. A histopathological examination was performed on five patients. The IGRA was positive in three out of three patients. We observed concomitant PTB in 12 out of 12 patients. The median duration from the first visit to the ultimate diagnosis of laryngeal TB was 16 days.
Conclusion: The clinical symptoms of TB, especially those observed in the larynx, vary among patients. Otolaryngologists should be alert for extrapulmonary manifestations of TB to ensure an early diagnosis and treatment from a public health perspective.
