Tuberculous cellulitis

We report a case of cutaneous tuberculosis presenting as cellulitis. The pa tient was a 63-year-old Korean woman who also had diabetes mellitus and a 2 0-year-history of oral corticosteroid medication prescribed for arthralgia. In addition, she had had pulmonary tuberculosis 20-year previously for whi ch she received systemic treatment for 1 year. Her clinical cellulitis fail ed to respond to antibiotic therapy. Subsequent investigations, using histo pathology and polymerase chain reaction, established an alternative diagnos is of cutaneous tuberculosis. The skin eruption cleared after treatment wit h isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide. This case represents a most unusual presentation of tuberculosis in the skin. The atypical featu res may reflect the patient's general medical state.