Cutaneous eruptions in congenital tuberculosis

Systemic tuberculosis with morphologic skin lesions that were essentially identical developed in two infants who were born of tuberculous mothers. In each patient, the infection induced erythematous papules with central crusted dells, noted four and eight weeks after birth, respectively. In each case, the diagnosis of tuberculosis was made by examination of tissue that was obtained at laparotomy. In neither patient was Mycobacterium tuberculosis found in the skin lesions. The conditions of both patients responded well to antituberculous therapy. This article reviews the possible categorization of the skin lesions in these infants.