title: Tuberculous pancreatic abscess in an HIV antibody-negative patient: case report and review.
abstract: Tuberculosis (TB) is most commonly diagnosed as a pulmonary disease; however, haematogenous spread of the organism can cause disease in any organ system. We report the case of a 30-y-old woman, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) antibody-negative, who was diagnosed as having a pancreatic mass on computed tomographic (CT) scans. She underwent a laparotomy and the fluid drained from the mass was culture-positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We review the clinical details of 37 similar cases of pancreatic TB in the literature, where each patient's HIV antibody status is negative or unknown. In this series 3 patients died (1 of these had commenced anti-TB therapy, the others had not) but the remaining 34 responded well to radiological-guided drainage and/or surgical intervention and anti-TB therapy. TB should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a pancreatic mass, especially when associated with epigastric pain or discomfort and weight loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Alfred Hospital, Prahran, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Jenney
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Pickles
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hellard
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Spelman
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Spicer
mesh_terms: D018784:Abdominal Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D000328:Adult; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D018023:HIV Seronegativity; D006801:Humans; D007813:Laparotomy / Q000379:methods; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014383:Tuberculosis, Endocrine / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents