title: Biliary tuberculosis causing cicatricial stenosis after oral anti-tuberculosis therapy.
abstract: A 36-year-old Philippine woman presented with dark urine and yellow sclera. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) confirmed dilatation of the intrahepatic bile ducts and also showed an irregular stricture of the common hepatic duct at the liver hilum. Histological examination of biopsies from the bile duct revealed epithelioid cell granulomas and caseous necrosis. Tubercle bacilli were then detected on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of the bile, giving the diagnosis of biliary tuberculosis. Although microbiological cure was confirmed, the patient developed cicatricial stenosis of the hepatic duct. She underwent repeated treatments with endoscopic biliary drainage (EBD) tubes and percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) tubes, and the stenosis was corrected after 6 years. We present a case of tuberculous biliary stricture, a condition that requires careful differentiation from the more common malignancies and needs long-term follow-up due to the risk of post-treatment cicatricial stenosis, although it is rare.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Kitasato University East Hospital, Sagamihara, Japan. t-iwai@poppy.ocn.ne.jp
authors.forename: Tomohisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwai
authors.forename: Mitsuhiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kida
authors.forename: Yoshiki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kida
authors.forename: Nobuaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shikama
authors.forename: Akitaka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shibuya
authors.forename: Katsunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saigenji
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001660:Biliary Tract Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014385:Tuberculosis, Gastrointestinal / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents