Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia (Dec 2014)

Update on cutaneous tuberculosis

  • Maria Fernanda Reis Gavazzoni Dias,
  • Fred Bernardes Filho,
  • Maria Victória Quaresma,
  • Leninha Valério do Nascimento,
  • José Augusto da Costa Nery,
  • David Rubem Azulay

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/abd1806-4841.20142998
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 89, no. 6
pp. 925 – 938

Abstract

Read online Read online

Tuberculosis continues to draw special attention from health care professionals and society in general. Cutaneous tuberculosis is an infection caused by M. tuberculosis complex, M. bovis and bacillus Calmette-Guérin. Depending on individual immunity, environmental factors and the type of inoculum, it may present varied clinical and evolutionary aspects. Patients with HIV and those using immunobiological drugs are more prone to infection, which is a great concern in centers where the disease is considered endemic. This paper aims to review the current situation of cutaneous tuberculosis in light of this new scenario, highlighting the emergence of new and more specific methods of diagnosis, and the molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate the parasite-host interaction.

Keywords