Tuberculosis in Well-Nourished Children in Calabar, Nigeria

Abstract

Tuberculosis has traditionally been found to occur with weight loss or at least failure to gain weight. Atypical and unusual presentations of various types of tuberculosis have been reported but limited data is available on tuberculosis in well-nourished children with no weight loss. Two case reports from our experience highlight well-nourished children with histologically diagnosed tuberculosis that presented with atypical symptoms and no evidences of weight loss. The usefulness of histological diagnosis cannot be overemphasized. This report aims to highlight this unusual presentation of tuberculosis so as to increase the index of suspicion for early diagnosis and hence, prompt treatment of tuberculosis in this group of children.