Dermatology >>>> Scrofula

Scrofula.

Scrofula is an external manifestation of tuberculosis on the surface of the skin, mucous membranes and / or damage to the lymph nodes. With scrofula, mycobacterium colonizes the body, spreading by the lymphogenous pathway, affecting both the subcutaneous tissue and the surface layers of the skin. As a rule, the cause of scrofula (tuberculosis lesions of the skin and lymph nodes) lies in reduced immunity in people who have had or have other forms of tuberculosis. Scrofula implies hypersensitivity of allergic origin to the presence of mycobacteria in the body during the development of non-progressive primary tuberculosis (pulmonary or bone tuberculosis) in a person.

Signs of scrofula resemble the development of an allergic skin disease:

On the skin, there are rashes in the form of nodules with scales, pustules or ulcers;
Lymph nodes become inflamed, bumps swell on the neck, which eventually become loose, can end in the formation of an ulcer or fistula;
Chronic rhinitis, conjunctivitis, photophobia may appear.

Most often, scrofula is observed in children, but at present such a manifestation of tuberculosis is rare.

To clarify the diagnosis, a bacteriological examination of the purulent contents of the ulcers and the contents of the lymph nodes is carried out, the reaction of the body is examined using the Pirquet test, the Mantoux test, and an X-ray of the lungs is taken. Diagnosis of scrofula is aimed at confirming the presence of mycobacteria in the body and searching for tuberculous foci.

Treatment of scrofula involves extinguishing the main focus of the spread of tuberculosis infection: treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, tuberculosis of bone tissue. Scrofula (tuberculosis of the skin) can be successfully treated if the rules for taking medications are followed. The most effective are Rifampicin, Isoniazid, Pyrazinamide, Ethambutol. Treatment can take a long period (from six months to several years) and depends on the degree of drug resistance of the mycobacterium. A prerequisite for the successful treatment of skin tuberculosis is adequate nutrition and improved living conditions.