A case report of difficult diagnosis in the patient with advanced laryngeal tuberculosis

We report a patient with severe laryngeal tuberculosis (LTB) involving thyroid cartilage and combined with whole-bone metastasis. A 57-year-old male had presented only with hoarseness. Radiological findings were indicative of suspected metastasis from a malignant tumor. However, tuberculosis was considered by histopathological findings, and so sputum samples were tested for acid-fast bacilli and purified protein derivatives of tuberculin in order to detect the presence of LTB. A polymerase chain reaction confirmed the diagnosis. Anti-tuberculous medications were effective in resolving the hoarseness, and the removal of the mass in the right wing of thyroid cartilage was confirmed by computed tomography (CT).