Peritoneal tuberculosis: diagnostic options.
BACKGROUND
Extrapulmonary tuberculosis has vague symptoms and few signs. It is essential to recognize and diagnose this curable disease prior to performing definitive surgery. Newer tests such as DNA or RNA amplification allow for early diagnosis but have limitations.


METHODS
We report a case of peritoneal tuberculosis in an immigrant woman. She had vague symptoms of low-grade fever, mild abdominal pain, obstipation, and bloating. Diagnostic laparoscopy was performed to establish the diagnosis. Tuberculosis was confirmed by DNA extraction from the frozen section specimen with subsequent analysis using polymerase chain reaction.


CONCLUSIONS
Peritoneal tuberculosis is a disease that often simulates malignancies. With the increasing prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus in developed countries, tuberculosis is also on the rise and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient with an abdominal/pelvic mass and ascites.
Lal
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N
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Boston Medical Center, MA, USA.
Soto-Wright
V
V
D000328:Adult; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D019160:Endosonography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods; D014395:Peritonitis, Tuberculous / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D004269:DNA, Bacterial