Incidental Finding of Tuberculosis During Evaluation for Delayed Wound Healing

Cutaneous tuberculosis (TB) is an uncommon form of extrapulmonary TB that can be difficult to diagnose. The following case is about a 14-year-old female who was experiencing delayed wound healing after an incision and drainage of a chest wall abscess. A computed tomography scan of her chest obtained 2 months after the procedure revealed pulmonary findings consistent with TB. An acid-fast bacilli culture was obtained from the wound after the computed tomography scan was performed and was positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis 8 weeks later. Although TB is relatively uncommon in the United States, it is more prevalent in the Republic of Korea where the patient lives and was evaluated. This case serves to illustrate the long history of challenges the military medical community has faced with TB and to remind providers to be cognizant about local common diseases when serving overseas and include these diagnoses in their differentials.