This case is being reported because tubercular involvement
of the parotid gland in the pediatric population is extremely
rare even in the TB endemic country like Bangladesh.
Here, a case of an 11 year old girl with tuberculous abscess
of the right parotid gland is reported who presented with
right sided earache, headache and fever for two months
followed by development of a swelling in front of the right
ear for one and half months. There was no history of running
nose, drooling of saliva, pain on deglutition, prolonged
cough or hemoptysis, loss of appetite or weight loss. Patient
came from an area where many known TB patients reside.
General and systemic examination revealed no abnormality
except the swelling. Her BCG mark was present and BMI
was age appropriate. Tuberculin test (MT) was positive and
chest x-ray revealed no abnormality. The diagnosis of
tuberculous parotid abscess was initially made by
histopathology of the swelling. Treatment was commenced
with a six months anti-TB regimen according to the national
TB guideline. Finally, TB was confirmed upon the clinical
response to anti-TB therapy. Therefore, it is recommended
to consider TB in the differential diagnosis of parotiditis
and chronic swelling of this salivary gland especially in
TB endemic countries.
(J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2019; 37: 39-42