KBB-Forum 2005 , Cilt 4, Sayı 3

PRIMARY NASOPHARYNGEAL TUBERCULOSIS

Dr. Mahmut ÖZKIRIŞ1, Dr. Utku KUBİLAY1, Dr. Ercan AYDIN1, Dr. Faruk ÖZKIRIŞ2, Dr. Gürkan KAYABAŞOĞLU1, Dr. Şeref ÜNVER1
1Dr. Lütfi Kırdar Kartal Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Kulak Burun Boğaz, İstanbul, Türkiye
2Eskişehir SSK Bölge Hastanesi, Kulak Burun Boğaz, Eskişehir, Türkiye
Primary nasopharygeal tuberculosis is a rare condition. Although the prevalence of nasopharyngeal tuberculosis has decreased after the wide use of anti-tuberculous agents, the number of reports for the disease has slightly increased recently in accordance with advances in the diagnostic tools. Cervical lymphadenopathy occurs in more than half of the patients and is the most common presenting complaint. Cervical lymphadenopathy, together with the nasopharyngeal symptoms related to the mass or mucosal irregularity, makes the differential diagnosis from carcinoma difficult; and thus makes histopathologic evaluation necessary for diagnosis.

The most common symptoms of nasopharyngeal tuberculosis are cervical lympadenopathy, unilateral hearing loss and nasal discharge and/or obstruction. A 54 year-old female with isolated nasopharyngeal tuberculosis is presented. Keywords : Nasopharynx, tuberculosis, hearing loss, snoring