PURPOSE: To highlight the importance of nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a case of subconjunctival tuberculosis. METHODS: We report a case of a 60-year-old man with subconjunctival nodule in the right eye for duration of 6 weeks. Biopsy of the nodule showed a granuloma with extensive caseation necrosis. Ziehl Neelsen staining for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) was negative. However, because of a strong suspicion of Mycobacterium infection, PCR for M. tuberculosis genome was done, using the nested PCR technique. RESULTS: Polymerase chain reaction for M. tuberculosis showed amplification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome with the nested PCR technique. CONCLUSION: Our case indicates that PCR can be a valuable tool in the diagnosis of conjunctival tuberculosis from paraffin sections.
PURPOSE: To highlight the importance of nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a case of subconjunctival tuberculosis. METHODS: We report a case of a 60-year-old man with subconjunctival nodule in the right eye for duration of 6 weeks. Biopsy of the nodule showed a granuloma with extensive caseation necrosis. Ziehl Neelsen staining for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) was negative. However, because of a strong suspicion of Mycobacteriuminfection, PCR for M. tuberculosis genome was done, using the nested PCR technique. RESULTS: Polymerase chain reaction for M. tuberculosis showed amplification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome with the nested PCR technique. CONCLUSION: Our case indicates that PCR can be a valuable tool in the diagnosis of conjunctival tuberculosis from paraffin sections.
Authors: K Lily Therese; R Gayathri; L Dhanurekha; R Sridhar; N Meenakshi; H N Madhavan; S Edwin Manoj; A Kamala Vinayagam Journal: Indian J Med Res Date: 2012-05 Impact factor: 2.375