An Unusual Case Of Esophageal Tuberculosis

Organ tuberculosis is an important problem for the public health in devoloping countries. Tuberculosis can be seen on any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus. Esophageal tuberculosis is very rarely seen with 0.14% prevalance. It usually originates from mediastinal tuberculous lymphadenopathy. We report a 55-year-old woman who admitted to our hospital with complaints of dysphagia, weight loss, audinophagia and epigastric pain. The chest radiography revealed a linear opacity compatible with fibrotic tape was seen on chest x-ray. Thorax CT examination revealed milimetric calcified lymph nodes at subcarinal and the right hilar region, thickening of proximal part of esophageal wall through carinal leveland subsegmenter collapse on left lower lobe. Ulcerative lesion with dimension of 1×1 cm localized in the 19th cm of the esophagus was seen on upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, suggesting esophageal carcinoma. Biopsy revealed necrotizing granulomatous ulceration which resembled tuberculosis. After antituberculous chemotherapy, the endoscopy repeated in end of the 2nd month of antituberculous therapy and the recovery of ulcer lesion was seen and the biopsy showed no signs of tuberculosis. Conclusion; esophageal tuberculosis should be kept in mind at differential diagnosis in patients who have complaints of dysphagia and loss weight and radiological signs.