Case report demonstrates cutaneous tuberculosis presenting as a non-healing finger ulcer in a middle-aged male, highlighting the need for clinical suspicion in unexplained chronic skin lesions.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic granulomatous infection which most often localises to the respiratory system. Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis is prevalent in immunocompromised individuals, of which cutaneous tuberculosis is exceedingly rare (0.5-2%). Cutaneous TB presents with varied clinical morphologies, either acquired exogenously via direct inoculation on the skin or endogenously due to systemic dissemination. Diagnosis is particularly challenging due to the multitude of differential diagnoses of skin lesions. Microbiological evidence from biopsy and histopathological findings suggestive of granulomatous inflammation are needed to make a definitive diagnosis. Herein we present a rare case of tuberculosis of the finger in a middle-aged man who presented with an ulcerating and erythematous lesion. As cutaneous TB is usually misdiagnosed at the earlier stages, dermatologists and primary care physicians should keep high suspicion for cutaneous TB in any non-healing ulcers which are otherwise unexplained.
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Dhar et al. (2022) studied this question.
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