Case Report: Unveiling the Unseen – Ocular Tuberculosis Presenting as Chalazion

Rucha Karad Department of Infectious Diseases and Advanced Microbiology, School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, India

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Vasireddy Teja Department of Infectious Diseases and Advanced Microbiology, School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, India

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Hardik Patel Department of Infectious Diseases and Advanced Microbiology, School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, India

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Boudhayan Bhattacharjee Department of Infectious Diseases and Advanced Microbiology, School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, India

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Agnibho Mondal Department of Infectious Diseases and Advanced Microbiology, School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, India

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Soumendra Nath Haldar Department of Infectious Diseases and Advanced Microbiology, School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, India

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Bibhuti Saha Department of Infectious Diseases and Advanced Microbiology, School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, India

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Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis that most commonly affects the lungs. Ocular involvement as part of extrapulmonary TB is noted in around 2–18% of cases of extrapulmonary TB. Any part of the eyes can be affected by the tubercular disease process, and a high index of suspicion is required for accurate diagnosis. Because the location is extrapulmonary, obtaining a proper sample is difficult, and the paucibacillary nature of the disease also makes microbiological detection a diagnostic challenge. Response to antitubercular therapy is usually good, and resolution of clinical features is observed in most cases. Here, we present a case report of a patient presenting with a chalazion-like lesion in the left eyelid that recurred after surgical intervention and did not respond to medical therapy. No history of past TB infection or contact was noted in the patient. An active tubercular lung infection was excluded. On further evaluation, the lesion was microbiologically proven to be of tubercular origin, and the signs and symptoms of the patient completely resolved with proper antitubercular therapy.

Author Notes

Current contact information: Rucha Karad, Vasireddy Teja, Hardik Patel, Boudhayan Bhattacharjee, Agnibho Mondal, Soumendra Nath Haldar, and Bibhuti Saha, Department of Infectious Diseases and Advanced Microbiology, School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, India, E-mails: ruchakarad78@gmail.com, tejavasireddy77@gmail.com, h9327777333@gmail.com, bou.bhatta@gmail.com, mondal@agnibho.com, soumenhaldar79@gmail.com, and s_bibhuti@hotmail.com.

Address correspondence to Rucha Karad, Department of Infectious Diseases and Advanced Microbiology, School of Tropical Medicine, 108 C. R. Ave., Kolkata 700073, India. E-mail: ruchakarad78@gmail.com
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