Metastatic tuberculous abscess: A rare manifestation of cutaneous tuberculosis

Abstract

Cutaneous tuberculosis (CTB), a rare manifestation of tuberculosis is one of the most challenging diagnoses to establish. Metastasic tuberculous abscess is a form of CTB which is characterized by cold abscesses on the patient's extremities or trunk without any involvement of underlying tissue. Here we report a case of 56-year-old Bangladeshi male with no previous history of TB, who presented with multiple abscesses over the body for 3 months. His diagnosis was confirmed on the basis of demonstration of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the lesions by staining, PCR and culture. But no primary focus was found. After 1 month of anti-tubercular therapy, significant improvement was noted.

Keywords

• cutaneous tuberculosis
• metastasic tuberculous abscess
• tuberculous gumma