Laryngeal Tuberculosis in an Immunocompetent Subject: A Case Report

Laryngeal tuberculosis is one of the rare forms of tuberculosis and may lead to misdiagnosis because the clinical picture is similar to that of cancers of the aerodigestive tract, sometimes leading to erroneous indications for surgery. We report the case of a 56-year-old immunocompetent patient with laryngeal and pulmonary tuberculosis treated in the ENT department of the Mohamed V military hospital in Rabat. Laryngeal tuberculosis is one of the extra-pulmonary forms of tuberculosis, accounting for approximately 1% of tuberculosis cases. Like tumours of the aerodigestive tract, laryngeal tuberculosis initially manifests itself as upper cervical discomfort, progressing to intermittent dysphonia before becoming permanent. Laryngoscopy is an essential part of the diagnosis. Computed tomography helps to make the diagnosis and most often reveals a bulging lesion located in the glottis or subglottic with more or less satellite cervical adenopathy. Smoking is thought to be a factor in laryngeal tuberculosis. Laryngeal tuberculosis is diagnosed with certainty by anatomopathological and cytobacteriological examination, which both rule out a tumour process and confirm positive BK contamination. Treatment is mainly medical, with standard tuberculosis treatment lasting 6 months.