LOCALIZED TUBERCULOSIS OF THE ESOPHAGUS - A RARE CONDITION

This report describes the case of a male patient with progressive dysp hagia, epigastric pain, odynophagia. generalized weakness and a mid-oe sophagus ulceration in which biopsies showed acid-fast bacilli and his tological evidence of tuberculosis. Culture of the biopsies and the sp utum revealed mycobacterium tuberculosis. There were no respiratory sy mptoms, and radiographs did not reveal evidence of pulmonary tuberculo sis. The patient responded well to antituberculous therapy and he is a live and well 7 years later, without any signs of relapse. The involve ment of the oesophagus as the only demonstrable localization of tuberc ulosis is an extremely rare condition, which should always be consider ed as differential diagnosis in dyspepsia of unknown origin.