Tuberculosis as a Cause of Rapid Salivary Gland Swelling in the Elderly – A Case Report

A 77-year-old man was admitted to the internal medicine department for a 5-day history of progressive preauricular swelling. Two lines of antibiotic treatment failed to achieve any improvement. Fine needle aspiration cytology was conducted and smear staining with the Ziehl-Neelsen stain as well as a PCR test were positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These results were confirmed with culture of the sample. A diagnosis of tuberculosis parotitis was made and anti-tuberculous drugs were initiated. LEARNING POINTS In patients not responding to usual antibiotic treatment, other rare causes of parotitis should be suspected. Fine needle aspiration cytology was an important procedure in establishing the diagnosis.