title: Pancreatic tuberculosis.
abstract: Pancreatic tuberculosis is very rare, but recently, there has been a spurt in the number of reports on pancreatic involvement by tuberculosis. It closely mimics pancreatic cancer, and before the advent of better imaging modalities it was often detected as a histological surprise in patients resected for a presumed pancreatic malignancy. The usual presentation involves abdominal pain, loss of appetite and weight, jaundice which can be associated with cholestasis, fever and night sweats, palpable abdominal lump, and peripheral lymphadenopathy. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen is an important tool for evaluation of patients with pancreatic tuberculosis. This CT imaging yields valuable information about the size and nature of tubercular lesions along with the presence of ascites and lymphadenopathy. However, there are no distinctive features on CT that distinguish it from pancreatic carcinoma. Endoscopic ultrasound provides high resolution images of the pancreatic lesions as well as an opportunity to sample these lesions for cytological confirmation. The presence of granulomas is the most common finding on histological/cytological examination with the presence of acid fast bacilli being observed only in minority of patients. As there are no randomized or comparative studies on treatment of pancreatic tuberculosis it is usually treated like other forms of tuberculosis. Excellent cure rates are reported with standard anti tubercular therapy given for 6-12 months.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Vishal
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Surinder S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Rana
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Deepak K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Bhasin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D019160:Endosonography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014376:Tuberculosis; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents
keywords: computed tomography; endosonography; jaundice; stent; tuberculosis