Pulmonary tuberculosis presenting with oral aphthae

Tuberculosis cutis orificialis with underlying pulmonary tuberculosis in an immunocompetent man

Tuberculosis cutis orificialis (TCO) is a rare form of tuberculosis more often secondary to pulmonary tuberculosis. TCO has varied differential diagnoses and thus results in delayed diagnosis and treatment leading to serious consequences. The diagnosis of TCO is confirmed by biopsy and nucleic acid amplification tests in majority of cases. We report a case of TCO with underlying pulmonary tuberculosis in a 50-year-old male, who presented with a painful nonhealing ulcer of the right buccal mucosa. Biopsy and real-time polymerase chain reaction helped in confirming the diagnosis. The patient was treated with antitubercular therapy.

Recurrent aphthous ulceration: a review of potential causes and novel treatments

Purpose of article: This review examines studies published between May 2012 and 2017 with a specific interest in potential recurrent aphthous ulceration (RAU) etiologies and treatment modalities/efficacy, including topical treatments, systemic regimens, vitamin repletion, and laser therapy, among others.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

PubMed MEDLINE and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched using various combinations of: 'aphthous', 'ulcer', and 'treatment'. The titles and abstracts from the initial literature search were appraised to identify articles for full review and reference sections from each article were searched manually for relevant publications. Both randomized controlled trials and observational reports were included in this review, as some treatment types have not been formally examined in randomized trials. Relevant studies were reviewed, compared, and summarized.

RESULTS

RAU can result from systemic disease and trauma, but recent studies have shown a variety of potential etiologies, ranging from vitamin deficiencies, oral microbiota derangements, hematological considerations, stress, genetic polymorphisms to oxidant-antioxidant imbalances, among others. Many modalities of therapy are available and have proven efficacious.

CONCLUSIONS

As the exact etiology of RAU is still unknown, therapy is based on symptomatic relief.