Recent Trends in Head and Neck Tuberculosis And Review of Literature

Objective:-As extra pulmonary tuberculosis is rising we want to highlight the presentations of head and neck tuberculosis, discuss the difficulty in diagnosis and treatment. Materials and methods: - 5 year retrospective analysis of patients with tuberculosis of head and neck. Results:- 43 patients were studied. Most had cervical lymphadenopathy (29), five tuberculous otitis media, six laryngeal, one patient each of paranasal sinus, oropharyneal and retropharyngeal involvement. Eight had pulmonary tuberculosis, two had potts spine and five gave history of previous tuberculosis. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) was effective in nodal disease. PPD test positive in 20% . Biopsy and histopathological examination used to make diagnosis in other types. Conclusions:-Diagnosing TB requires high index of suspicion. Cervical lymphadenitis is the commonest, followed by larynx and ear. FNAC is reliable and easy way to diagnose lymphadenitis, histopathological examination needed for confirmation and for other sites. Investigations are needed to exclude pulmonary or systemic TB.