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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">KJIM</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine</journal-title><abbrev-journal-title>Korean J Intern Med</abbrev-journal-title></journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="ppub">1226-3303</issn>
<issn pub-type="epub">2005-6648</issn>
<publisher>
<publisher-name>The Korean Association of Internal Medicine</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.3904/kjim.2023.458</article-id>
<article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">kjim-2023-458</article-id>
<article-categories>
<subj-group>
<subject>Image of interest</subject></subj-group></article-categories>
<title-group>
<article-title>A rare case of esophageal ulcer: esophageal tuberculosis</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name><surname>Han</surname><given-names>Dong-Ge</given-names></name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="af1-kjim-2023-458"><sup>1</sup></xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="af2-kjim-2023-458"><sup>2</sup></xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="af3-kjim-2023-458"><sup>3</sup></xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name><surname>Wang</surname><given-names>Xiao-Xia</given-names></name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="af1-kjim-2023-458"><sup>1</sup></xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="af2-kjim-2023-458"><sup>2</sup></xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="af3-kjim-2023-458"><sup>3</sup></xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7118-815X</contrib-id>
<name><surname>Liu</surname><given-names>Wei</given-names></name>
<xref ref-type="corresp" rid="c1-kjim-2023-458"/>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="af1-kjim-2023-458"><sup>1</sup></xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="af2-kjim-2023-458"><sup>2</sup></xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="af3-kjim-2023-458"><sup>3</sup></xref>
</contrib>
<aff id="af1-kjim-2023-458">
<label>1</label>The First College of Clinical Medical Science, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, <country>China</country></aff>
<aff id="af2-kjim-2023-458">
<label>2</label>Institute of Digestive Disease, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, <country>China</country></aff>
<aff id="af3-kjim-2023-458">
<label>3</label>Department of Gastroenterology, Yichang Central People&#x02019;s Hospital, Yichang, <country>China</country></aff>
</contrib-group>
<author-notes>
<corresp id="c1-kjim-2023-458">Correspondence to Wei Liu, M.D., Ph.D. Institute of Digestive Disease, China Three Gorges University, 8 Daxue Road, Yichang 443000, China Tel: +86-15207201575, Fax: +86-0717-6486157 E-mail: <email>liuwei@ctgu.edu.cn</email></corresp>
</author-notes>
<pub-date pub-type="ppub">
<month>7</month>
<year>2024</year></pub-date>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>9</day>
<month>4</month>
<year>2024</year></pub-date>
<volume>39</volume>
<issue>4</issue>
<fpage>691</fpage>
<lpage>692</lpage><history>
<date date-type="received">
<day>23</day>
<month>10</month>
<year>2023</year></date>
<date date-type="rev-recd">
<day>1</day>
<month>12</month>
<year>2023</year></date>
<date date-type="accepted">
<day>14</day>
<month>12</month>
<year>2023</year></date>
</history>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright &#x000A9; 2024 The Korean Association of Internal Medicine</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2024</copyright-year>
<license>
<license-p>This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/</ext-link>) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</license-p></license></permissions>
</article-meta></front>
<body>
<sec>
<title/>
<p>A 46-year-old woman presented with a 3-week history of mild odynophagia and retrosternal pain. She denied fever, cough, weight loss, and history of esophageal carcinoma. She had no recorded medical history. Physical examination was unremarkable with no lymphadenopathy. Laboratory tests were normal. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy showed circumferential circular and deep ulcers with heaped up edges in the upper esophageal region at 28 cm from the incisor (<xref rid="f1-kjim-2023-458" ref-type="fig">Fig. 1A</xref>). Colonoscopy examination was normal. Esophageal biopsy specimens (H&amp;E staining) showed ulceration and caseating granulomas (<xref rid="f1-kjim-2023-458" ref-type="fig">Fig. 1B</xref>). The histopathological characteristics of the esophageal biopsies indicated the possibility of esophageal tuberculosis. Chest computed tomography scan revealed potential pulmonary tuberculosis (<xref rid="f1-kjim-2023-458" ref-type="fig">Fig. 1C</xref>). No enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes were found in adjacent areas. She underwent a bronchoscopy examination. Acid-fast staining and polymerase chain reaction testing of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid for M tuberculosis were positive. The purified protein derivative skin test and T-SPOT. TB assay were also positive. Human immunodeficiency virus screening antibody was negative. Finally, she received a diagnose of esophageal tuberculosis secondary to pulmonary tuberculosis. Esophageal tuberculosis is rare, which is commonly secondary to tuberculosis of lung and lymph nodes &#x0005b;<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="b1-kjim-2023-458">1</xref>&#x0005d;. Symptoms are related to the extent of infection, which may include retrosternal pain, dysphagia, haematemesis, and odynophagia &#x0005b;<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="b2-kjim-2023-458">2</xref>,<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="b3-kjim-2023-458">3</xref>&#x0005d;. The endoscopic features of esophageal tuberculosis is not well defined because of its rarity. Multiple biopsies are suggested to take to detect the evidence of tuberculosis infection. The patient received a standard oral antituberculous regimen with rifampicin, isoniazid, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide per day. Two months after antituberculous treatment, her symptoms of odynophagia and retrosternal pain disappeared. Repeat endoscopy examination showed that the ulcer healed gradually after 12 months of antituberculosis medication (<xref rid="f1-kjim-2023-458" ref-type="fig">Fig. 1D</xref>).</p>
</sec>
</body>
<back>

<fn-group><fn id="fn1-kjim-2023-458">
<p><bold>CRedit authorship contributions</bold></p>
<p>Dong-Ge Han: methodology, resources, investigation, data curation), Xiao-Xia Wang: formal analysis, validation, software, writing - original draft; Wei Liu: conceptualization, visualization, supervision, project administration</p></fn>
<fn id="fn2-kjim-2023-458" fn-type="conflict">
<p><bold>Conflicts of interest</bold></p>
<p>The authors disclose no conflicts.</p></fn>
<fn id="fn3-kjim-2023-458">
<p><bold>Funding</bold></p>
<p>None</p></fn>
<fn id="fn4-kjim-2023-458">
<p><bold>Ethical statement</bold></p>
<p>The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this “GI Image”. Board institutional approval was not required.</p></fn>
</fn-group>
<ref-list>
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<sec sec-type="display-objects">
<title>Figure</title>
<fig id="f1-kjim-2023-458" position="float">
<label>Figure 1.</label><caption><p>(A) Esophagogastroduodenoscopy showing circumferential circular and deep ulcers with heaped up edges in the upper esophageal region at 28 cm from the incisor. (B) H&amp;E staining showed ulceration and caseating granulomas. (C) Chest CT scan revealing potential pulmonary tuberculosis. (D) Repeat endoscopy examination showed that the ulcer healed. CT, computed tomography.</p></caption>
<graphic xlink:href="kjim-2023-458f1.tif"/>
</fig>
</sec>
</back></article>