Nasopharyngeal tuberculosis: report of four cases and review of the literature

Pan Afr Med J. 2019 Jun 27:33:150. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2019.33.150.15892. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Even if tuberculosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, nasopharyngeal location is unusual and extremely rare. We report four new cases observed with short time interval suggesting a trend towards increased frequency. The diagnosis was confirmed by histological analysis after a biopsy. The evolution was favorable after anti tuberculosis chemotherapy. In the light of those observations and a review of the literature, we will discuss different characteristics of this disease and we will highlight the need of a systematic biopsy in order to confirm diagnosis and exclude undifferentiated carcinoma especially in endemic regions for both diseases.

Keywords: Tuberculosis; headache; hearing loss; lymph node; nasal obstruction; nasopharyngeal disease; nasopharyngeal neoplasm; nasopharynx; treatment.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Biopsy / methods
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma / diagnosis
  • Nasopharyngeal Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Nasopharyngeal Diseases / microbiology
  • Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Tuberculosis / diagnosis*
  • Young Adult