[A case report: primary nasal tuberculosis]

A 62-year-old female visited us complaining of lacrimination and the swelling of the left side of the nasal dorsum. Granulation tissues were seen on the anterior-lateral wall of the left nasal cavity, and an imaging study revealed a mass occupying both the left nasal cavity and the anterior ethmoid sinuses invading the face with erosion of the nasal bone. Histological examination showed an epithelioid granuloma without caseous necrosis which mostly suggested sarcoidosis. The affected lesions became larger 11 months after the initial examination, and a biopsy was performed again, which revealed the same pathological findings. Although the biopsy specimen was negative based on the PCR findings, tubercle bacillus was detected in the culture 7 weeks later. The patient was finally diagnosed as having primary tuberculosis of the nose and paranasal sinuses because systemic examination showed no evidence of tuberculosis in other areas. She was treated with antituberculosis medication, and the affected nasal lesions disappeared. It is important to perform a biopsy and tissue culture repeatedly when we encounter an intractable and undiagnosed disease in the nasal cavity.