Localized tuberculosis of the oesophagus: a rare condition

This report describes the case of a male patient with progressive dysphagia, epigastric pain, odynophagia, generalized weakness and a mid-oesophagus ulceration in which biopsies showed acid-fast bacilli and histological evidence of tuberculosis. Culture of the biopsies and the sputum revealed mycobacterium tuberculosis. There were no respiratory symptoms, and radiographs did not reveal evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis. The patient responded well to antituberculous therapy and he is alive and well 7 years later, without any signs of relapse. The involvement of the oesophagus as the only demonstrable localization of tuberculosis is an extremely rare condition, which should always be considered as differential diagnosis in dyspepsia of unknown origin.