CUTANEOUS TUBERCULOSIS: A 26-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE STUDY IN AN ENDEMIC AREA OF TUBERCULOSIS, VITÓRIA, ESPÍRITO SANTO, BRAZIL

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: Karla SPELTA, Lucia M. DINIZ
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2016
• Subjects: Tuberculosis; Cutaneous tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Epidemiology; Tuberculid; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1678-9946201658049; https://doaj.org/article/1f153ae9cfa44423828c54d9f3445fd7

SUMMARY Background: Tuberculosis is a serious health problem in Brazil so that the knowledge on the aspects of cutaneous tuberculosis is medically important. Objective: To assess the characteristics of patients with cutaneous tuberculosis treated at the Cassiano Antonio Moraes University Hospital, located in the city of Vitória, State of Espírito Santo, Brazil. Methods: This is a retrospective, descriptive, observational and cross-sectional study using the medical records of 29 patients with cutaneous tuberculosis treated at the Dermatology and Pulmonology services of the hospital from 1986 to 2011. The inclusion criterion was the confirmation of cutaneous tuberculosis taking into account clinical, epidemiological, immunological, and bacteriological findings, as well as the response to specific treatment. Results: Of the 29 studied patients; 18 (62%) were women with average age of 37 years; the predominant clinical condition was erythema induratum of Bazin in 12 (41.4%) cases; and the cutaneous lesions were in the lower limbs in 19 (65.8%) patients. Extra-cutaneous involvement occurred in eight (27.6%) cases. The tuberculin tests were positive in 15 (79%) individuals and the assessment of the infectious agent was negative in most of the investigated cases. Conclusion: The study found a low frequency (0.44%) of cutaneous tuberculosis in an endemic area of tuberculosis. There was a predominance of infection in women aged thirty to forty years. Erythema induratum was the most common clinical condition, affecting mainly the lower limbs, in contrast to other Brazilian studies that found scrofuloderma as the most common manifestation, predominating in the cervical region of male children and adolescents.