A Case Report on Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis in the Uterine Cervix

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to enlighten health workers and medical students that for any woman presenting with abnormal vaginal discharge, abnormal vaginal bleeding or a lesion on the cervix, tuberculosis of the uterine cervix should be one the differential diagnoses. Being airborne, Tuberculosis (TB) commonly affects the lungs. However, TB can affect any organ of the body and when it is outside the lungs, it is called extrapulmonary TB. Tuberculosis is an ancient disease that has been a major cause of suffering and death for many years. Until the 1980s, before HIV, TB was the leading cause of death among infectious diseases. A 23-year-old nulliparous woman presented to our gynaecology clinic with post-coital bleeding and irregular menstrual periods. Review of her medical and surgical history revealed that she was on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) since her childhood and she was adherent to treatment. She was diagnosed with TB of the uterine cervix. TB of the uterine cervix presents with unspecific symptoms and signs which are also common to other female genital conditions like cancer of the cervix. Therefore, misdiagnosis and wrong treatment are not uncommon. Health providers, therefore, should have a high index of suspicion of cancer of the uterine cervix when managing women who present with abnormal vaginal discharge, abnormal vaginal bleeding and post-coital bleeding especially in countries where HIV and TB are endemic.