Rhinoscleroma causing severe bilateral nasal obstruction

Abstract

Rhinoscleroma is a chronic, infectious and granulomatous disease of the respiratory tract. There is often a delay in diagnosis due to unfamiliarity with the disease and also because culture is not always positive. We report a case in a 26-year-old woman with granular mass obstructing bilateral nasal cavities and causing breathing difficulty. Histopathological examination showed characteristic Mikulicz histiocytes containing numerous Gram-negative intracellular rod-shaped bacilli consistent with the diagnosis of rhinoscleroma. The patient was treated with gemifloxacin and tetracycline and remains asymptomatic over a year follow-up period. It is important to consider rhinoscleroma in cases of chronic nasal obstruction. As culture is not always positive, histopathological examination may be crucial to the diagnosis. Keywords: rhinoscleroma, nasal obstruction, histopathology