Cutaneous tuberculosis: An infrequent manifestation of a common pathogen in South Africa

Jennifer K van Heerden; Alistair G B Broadhurst; Ruan S de Jager; Wesley du Plessis; Nabilah Ebrahim; Ayanda T Mnguni; Denzil Schietekat; Graeme Meintjes

doi:10.4102/sajid.v38i1.526

Cutaneous tuberculosis: An infrequent manifestation of a common pathogen in South Africa

S Afr J Infect Dis. 2023 Jun 13;38(1):526. doi: 10.4102/sajid.v38i1.526. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jennifer K van Heerden^{1

2}, Alistair G B Broadhurst³, Ruan S de Jager⁴, Wesley du Plessis³, Nabilah Ebrahim³, Ayanda T Mnguni¹, Denzil Schietekat¹, Graeme Meintjes^{2

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Khayelitsha District Hospital, Western Cape Department of Health, Cape Town, South Africa.
² Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
³ Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁴ Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁵ Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.

Abstract

Cutaneous tuberculosis is an infrequent form of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, even in high-prevalence settings. We present the case of a patient living with advanced HIV who developed extensive cutaneous tuberculosis. The polymorphic skin lesions were the most striking clinical manifestation of underlying disseminated tuberculosis.

Contribution: This case report highlights an unusual presentation of tuberculosis. Cutaneous tuberculosis has a wide spectrum of clinical presentations and may be under-recognised by clinicians. We recommend early biopsy for microbiological diagnosis.

Keywords: HIV; South Africa; TB; cutaneous tuberculosis; human immunodeficiency virus; tuberculosis.

Publication types

Case Reports