Pancreatic tuberculosis mimicking pancreatic carcinoma during anti-tuberculosis therapy: A case report

Abstract

Pancreatic tuberculosis (TB) is a rare condition, even in immunocompetent hosts. A case is presented of pan-creatic TB that mimicked pancreatic head carcinoma in a 40-year-old immunocompetent male patient. The patient was admitted to our hospital after suffering for nine days from epigastralgia and obstructive jaundice. Computed tomography revealed a pancreatic mass that mimicked a pancreatic head carcinoma. The patient had undergone an operation four months prior for tho-racic TB and was undergoing anti-TB therapy. A previ-ous abdominal ultrasound was unremarkable with the exception of gallbladder steroid deposits. The patient underwent surgery due to the progressive discomfort of the upper abdomen and a mass that resembled a pan-creatic malignancy. A biopsy of the pancreas and lymph nodes was performed, revealing TB infection. The pa-tient received a cholecystostomy tube and recovered after being administered standard anti-TB therapy for 15 mo. This case is reported to emphasize the rare contribution of pancreatic TB to pancreatic masses and obstructive jaundice. Core tip: Pancreatic tuberculosis (TB) is rare in immu-nocompetent or immunosuppressed hosts. We report a case of a 40-year-old immunocompetent host with pan-creatic TB that mimicked pancreatic head carcinoma with obstructive jaundice. The patient had previously been operated on for thoracic TB and was receiving anti-TB therapy. We report this case to emphasize rare causes of pancreatic masses and obstructive jaundice, and to discuss alternate treatments for pancreatic TB.