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A Report of Cutaneous Tuberculosis in Siblings
Author(s) -
NunezGussman Janna,
Starke Jeffrey,
Correa Armando,
Graviss Edward A.,
Pan Xi,
Popek Edwina,
Metry Denise
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
pediatric dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.542
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1525-1470
pISSN - 0736-8046
DOI - 10.1046/j.1525-1470.2003.20506.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cutaneous tuberculosis , tuberculosis , sibling , dermatology , skin biopsy , biopsy , polymerase chain reaction , acid fast , pathology , immunology , sputum , biology , genetics , psychology , developmental psychology , gene
Cutaneous tuberculosis is rarely seen in the United States, and we are unaware of any reports of siblings sharing the diagnosis. We report an instance of cutaneous tuberculosis affecting two sisters. The first sibling had skin biopsy specimen findings suggestive of an infectious source, but special stains and cultures were negative. Only with further evaluation using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was the diagnosis established. The second sibling had positive staining for acid‐fast bacilli, though her cultures were also negative. A high level of suspicion for tuberculosis should be maintained in otherwise healthy children with nonspecific, granulomatous disorders of the skin. PCR may be a useful tool for selected cases in which a high level of clinical suspicion exists, but special stains and cultures are negative.