A Fine Line Between A Major Surgery and Medical Therapy: The Diagnosis of Sternal Tuberculosis

Abstract

Tuberculosis involving the sternum is rare. The most common symptoms at the early stage are chest pain and palpable masses on the sternum. Cutaneous fistulas, spontaneous fracture of sternum and extrasternal spread may develop in cases with late diagnosis. In this article, we report a 53-year-old male case admitted with a one-month history of chest pain and two palpable masses on his lower sternal part of chest in whom the diagnosis of sternal tuberculosis was confirmed by histopathologically and rnicrobiologically. The masses were reduced in size with two-month anti-tubercular therapy. The nine-month duration of the therapy produced satisfactory results without any adverse reactions.