Laryngeal tuberculosis, the great deceiver: A series of 10 cases

Background

Laryngeal involvement is rare in tuberculosis, representing around 1% of all cases of this infection worldwide. Given the larynx’ location in the airway, this form of tuberculosis is of particular importance because it is highly contagious. With our hospital being in a high tuberculosis burden area, we propose to characterize the clinical presentation, evolution, and laryngoscopy findings of a series of laryngeal tuberculosis cases in order to reduce misdiagnosis.

Methods

Epidemiological and clinical data from 10 patients diagnosed with laryngeal tuberculosis in the Otorhinolaryngology department of (Blinded for manuscript) between January 2011 and December 2021 were retrieved and analyzed.

Results

There were eight males and two females. Seven patients had a history of smoking and alcohol abuse and four had silicosis. Hoarseness was the most reported symptom (n = 9). The most frequent site of involvement were the true vocal cords (n = 6). All patients but one had concomitant active pulmonary tuberculosis. Patients had full resolution of laryngeal symptoms between 4 and 16 weeks after initiating antituberculosis treatment.

Conclusion

Laryngeal tuberculosis is indeed a great deceiver. On one hand it can look like a simple polypoid lesion or simulate laryngopharyngeal reflux; but on the other hand its risk factors, symptoms and appearance simulate laryngeal carcinoma like no other. Since most patients present with concomitant pulmonary tuberculosis, all suspect laryngeal lesions should perform a chest radiograph prior to rigid laryngoscopy. Antituberculosis treatment is effective in both alleviating symptoms and reducing the risk of transmission.