Clinical and laboratory findings in 45 patients with cutaneous Tuberculosis in Ahwaz

Background: Cutaneous granulomatous dermatoses usually are a diagnostic challenge with tuberculosis (TB) on top of them. TB is a universal health problem and considered by WHO at the top of 6 common and dangerous infectious diseases. Objective: To determine the clinical, laboratory and histopathological findings in 45 patients with the diagnosis of cutaneous TB over a 10-year period in Ahwaz. Patients and Methods: This is an existing data study on the records of all patients with the diagnosis of TB admitted to Sina hospital in Ahwaz from November 1990 to March 1999. Data on the age, localization, clinical features were extracted from hospital records. Results: The age range of patients was between 1-76 years. Twenty-eight cases were female and 17 cases were male. Twenty-three cases were clinically diagnosed as scrofuloderma (SFD), 18 cases as lupus vulgaris (LV), 1 case as erythema induratum, 1 case as TB gumma, 1 case as orificial TB and 1 case as populonecrotic tuberculide. The most common involved site was face and the least common sites of involvement were buttock and elbow. Six cases had positive family history. SFD was present in 12 females and 11 males. The result of tuberculin test was positive in 15, negative in 17 and not available in 13 patients. Histopathologically, 23 cases showed chronic granulomatous disease without caseation, 18 cases showed non-specific inflammation and in 3 cases tubercle with caseation was observed. Concerning treatment, we found generally good clinical response with no failure in 32 patients who came for follow up. Conclusions: This study showed that in Ahwaz SFD was the most common form of cutaneous TB and the most frequent site of involvement was face.