A solitary tuberculous ulcer in the oesophagus

Esophageal Tuberculosis: A Systematic Review

Involvement of esophagus with tuberculous infection is a rare form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Secondary esophageal tuberculosis is much more common than primary TB. The most common source of secondary esophageal involvement is tuberculous mediastinal lymphadenitis. Esophageal tuberculosis mimics carcinoma esophagus. Clinical features are same and it is difficult on imaging studies also to differentiate the two pathologies. Misdiagnosis is common. The disease is medically curable; therefore, it is essential to make all efforts to diagnose the pathology with non-surgical diagnostic modalities in suspected cases so as to save patients from the trauma of major surgical resection. Surgical intervention is indicated for failed medical therapy and complications. A total of 133 cases of esophageal TB have been reported till date. The authors encountered 4 cases of esophageal TB between April 2011 and March 2019. The aim of this article is to present our data and to provide comprehensive review of the available literature on this pathology in order to gain a better understanding of diagnostic methods and provide guidelines for the diagnosis and management of esophageal TB.

Gastrointestinal Tuberculosis

Gastrointestinal tuberculosis (TB) is a fascinating disease which can be observed both in the clinical context of active pulmonary disease and as a primary infection with no pulmonary involvement. It represents a significant clinical challenge because of the resurgence of TB as well as the diagnostic challenges it poses. A high clinical suspicion remains the most powerful tool in an era of medicine when reliance on diagnostic technology increases. Antimicrobial therapy is the mainstay of therapy, but surgical and endoscopic interventions are frequently required for intestinal TB. Gastrointestinal TB is truly the "great mimic" and continues to require the astute clinical acumen of skillful clinicians to diagnose and treat.

Esophageal tuberculosis mimicking submucosal leiomyoma- report of a case

We present a case of primary esophageal tuberculosis presenting as solitary submucosal mass in cervical esophagus with clinical features of dysphagia, thus mimicking a submucosal leiomyoma on imaging in a 39 year old lady. Excision of this mass revealed features suggestive of tuberculosis on histopathology.