Laryngeal tuberculosis: review of twenty cases

Despite a dramatic reduction in incidence of laryngeal tuberculosis over the last three decades, tuberculous involvement still has to be considered in the differential diagnosis of laryngeal lesions. The majority of the 20 cases in our series consists of patients in whom the working diagnosis of carcinoma of the larynx was initially made. These patients presented with the chief complaint of hoarseness of several months duration, frequently associated with dysphagia, but in most cases with chest symptoms that were not prominent despite the fact that most of these patients had far advanced pulmonary tuberculosis. This presentation consists of a detailed analysis of 20 cases, and a discussion of the incidence, pathogenesis, clinical presentation and management of laryngeal tuberculosis.