A rare form of tuberculosis: Cutaneous tuberculosis cases

Abstract

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis that can affect all organs and tissues. The clinical forms of primary cutaneous tuberculosis are tuberculosis primary complex (tuberculosis chancre) and tuberculosis cutis miliaris (miliary cutaneous tuberculosis). Secondary cutaneous tuberculosis includes lupus vulgaris, tuberculosis cutis verrucosa, scrofuloderma, tuberculosis cutis orificialis, and metastatic tubercular abscesses. The most common form is lupus vulgaris. Cutaneous tuberculosis is a rare form of tuberculosis presenting with nonspecific lesions. It is difficult to diagnose due to its non-spesific clinical characteristics thus it can be confused with many other diseases. In this paper, we reviewed five patients with cutaneous tuberculosis who presented to our clinic within the past one year and we aimed to emphasize that cutaneous tuberculosis can manifest in different clinical forms.