A case of primary nasopharyngeal tuberculosis

Although the prevalence of nasopharyngeal tuberculosis has decreased after the wide use of anti-tuberculous agents, recently the number of reports with the disease has slightly increased in accordance with advances in the diagnostic tools. A case of nasopharyngeal tuberculosis without any tuberculous lesions in other organs (primary nasopharyngeal tuberculosis) was reported. A 74-year-old female complained of vertigo and cervical masses, and naso-pharygo-laryngoscopy disclosed a polypoid lesion on her nasopharynx. The biopsy from the mass revealed epithelioid cell granulomas with caseous necrosis and multinucleated giant cells consistent with tuberculosis. Since there were no tuberculous lesions in other organs except cervical lymph nodes in clinical examinations, we diagnosed the case as primary nasopharyngeal tuberculosis with tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis. The nasopharyngeal manifestation disappeared after four months chemotherapy with INH, RFP and EB. Most reported case of nasopharyngeal tuberculosis were in the young age group. A rare case of old woman complicated with cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis was reported.