The authors state that they have no conflicts of interest to declare. “
“Tuberculosis confined to the mucus membranes is a rare presentation in the era of effective chemotherapy. We describe a case of mucosal tuberculosis in a “medical tourist” from Burundi www.selleckchem.com/products/torin-1.html that went undiagnosed for 6 years. Starting as conjunctivitis, the disease has spread to involve the nose and larynx as well. The clinical, pathophysiological, and epidemiological aspects are discussed. Mucosal tuberculosis is a rare

presentation of a common disease. Mucosal tuberculosis may affect the conjunctivae, the nasal mucosa, the pharynx, the larynx, and the trachea.1–14 Some of these presentations carried a grave prognosis in the prechemotherapy era, as tuberculous laryngitis was responsible for more than one third of deaths.1 We present a unique case of mucosal tuberculosis from Africa, causing destruction of the eyelids, nose, and nasopharynx that had been undiagnosed for 6 years. A 26-year-old student from Burundi Ganetespib molecular weight arrived at our facility for diagnostic purposes (self-referred medical

tourist). He presented with slowly progressive, bilateral, lower palpebral inflammation (Figure 1); this was accompanied by dyspnea and weight loss of 15 kg over the last year. The lesions began 6 years ago in the lower left eyelid, progressed within a few months to the right, and subsequently spread to the left nostril and pharynx. Multiple blood tests, palpebral biopsy, and antibiotics (topical and oral) in Burundi were non-yielding. Fiberoptic nasopharyngoscopy at our hospital revealed: “granulomatous” lesions of the left

nostril and the right nasal septum, Histamine H2 receptor extensive epiglotic/arytenoid destruction, and narrowed airway (diameter = 4 mm). Blood count showed mild anemia (hemoglobin = 11.4 g%), but chemistry, serum immunoglobulins, and complement were normal. Serologies for antineutrophilic cytoplasmic antibodies, HIV, Brucella, Borrelia burgdorferi, and syphilis were all negative. Palpebral culture grew methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. Computerized tomography of the chest was remarkable for bilateral, upper lobe, and nodular lesions. The patient was scheduled for palpebral biopsy which demonstrated acute on chronic inflammation including non-necrotizing granulomata. However, specific stains for Mycobacteria, fungi, and other organisms were negative. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays using pan-bacterial, pan-fungal, pan-mycobacterial, and Chlamydial primers were negative, except for S aureus that was not considered to be the culprit pathogen. Culture, serology, and PCR for Leishmania were negative as well. Four weeks after the biopsy, cultures of the palpebral biopsy yielded growth of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex organism on Löwenstein–Jensen medium. The strain was identified at the national tuberculosis laboratory as M tuberculosis, sensitive to all first line antituberculous agents.