[Tuberculous thoracic parietal abcess. Report of 4 cases]

Cold abcess of the chest wall is a rare extra-pulmonary tuberculous location, usually described in cases of severe or disseminated form of tuberculous. His frequency is estimated for 1 to 5% of osteoarticular tuberculous. Four cases of cold abcess of the chest wall are reported. Three of the patients are more than 65- year- old and a 30-year-old woman. In three cases, abcess is developped in the posterior chest wall and it is sternal in the fourth case . Neither immunodepression nor previous tuberculous history or other location of the tuberculosis were noted. Diagnosis is based on demonstrating mycobacterium tuberculosis in pus culture in three cases and on histologic pattern in the last one. Classic anti-tuberculosis treatement was prolonged at 12 and 15 months in 2 patients because of respectively general and local prolonged evolution.