Doomed for carcinomatosis? An unusual presentation of abdominal tuberculosis

Rev Esp Enferm Dig. 2023 Oct;115(10):594. doi: 10.17235/reed.2023.9855/2023.

Abstract

A 35-year old male from Brazil presented with intermittent abdominal pain. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a nodule adjacent to splenic hilum and multiple abdominal nodules, suspicious of carcinomatosis. The patient underwent gastroscopy and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), that revealed an ill-defined hypoechogenic lesion adjacent to the spleen and two hypoechogenic subepithelial lesions located in the 4th layer of the stomach and duodenal bulb. Biopsies revealed non-necrotizing granulomatous inflammation with multinucleated giant cells. Soon after, a 18cm palpable mass within the rectus abdominis muscle was identified, and the biopsy was positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA, confirming the diagnosis of disseminated abdominal tuberculosis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Abdomen
  • Adult
  • Gastroscopy
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Spleen
  • Stomach
  • Tuberculosis* / diagnostic imaging