Tubercular Hepatic Abscess: An Incidental Finding

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is known to generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect multiple other parts of the body. Liver involvement with hepatic abscess is an infrequent manifestation of TB which is missed because of the rarity and non-specific symptoms, especially in the west. A thorough literature review shows very few case reports published in the western world. We present a rare case of isoniazid-resistant pulmonary TB associated with a hepatic abscess in the United States. It was diagnosed by aspiration of the abscess that later grew M. tuberculosis and treated with antitubercular drugs.