1999 Volume 42 Issue 4 Pages 385-390
We treated 3 patients with laryngeal tuberculosis associated with pulmonary tuberculosis. The diagnosis was made on the basis of the Gaffky scale and shadows in the lung field of chest X-rays in all patients.
Case 1 : A 59-year-old man whose left vocal cord was found to have granuloma-like lesions. He responded to medical therapy using antituberculosis drugs (isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol) and showed marked improvement in laryngeal findings.
Case 2 : A 56-year-old man was diagnosed by pathological examination, which revealed typical findings of tuberculosis.
Case 3 : A 61-year-old man whose larynx was coated by mucosal sputums. He died due to respiratory failure caused by miliary tuberculosis.
Because laryngeal tuberculosis is often associated with pulmonary tuberculosis, tubercle bacilli are usually detected in the sputum. Physicians may be exposed to these tubercle bacilli during examination or biopsy of the larynx. Laryngeal tuberculosis is difficult to differentiate macroscopically from malig nant tumors because both diseases present granuloma-like lesions. Furthermore, risk of mass outbreak or spread to other persons increases as the diagnosis is delayed, and early diagnosis and treatment are essential.
