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REVIEW ARTICLE

Laryngeal tuberculosis in the United States of America: A forgotten disease

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Pages 241-249 | Received 14 Oct 2013, Accepted 28 Nov 2013, Published online: 07 Feb 2014
 

Abstract

Laryngeal tuberculosis (TB) was a common manifestation of TB in the early twentieth century, but now represents only 1% of all cases. Most modern case series of laryngeal TB originate outside the USA. We report a case of laryngeal TB from our institution and review other US cases published between 1970 and 2012. One hundred twenty-seven cases were identified. The mean patient age was 49 y and 28% were female. The mean duration of symptoms was 19 weeks. Dysphonia and weight loss were the most common manifestations, seen in 96% and 47% of cases, respectively. These symptoms were usually attributed to malignancy initially. Most cases involved the vocal cords. Eighty-six percent of cases had underlying pulmonary involvement. Mortality was 3%. In the USA, laryngeal TB is rarely suspected and often confused with malignancy. This infection should be considered in patients with unexplained dysphonia and weight loss.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Vicki J. Schnadig for providing the pathology image and Dr Lucas S. Blanton for reviewing the manuscript.

Declaration of interest: The authors have no disclosures or conflicts of interests.

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