Splenic tuberculosis in patients with AIDS.

Abstract

Splenic tuberculosis is an uncommonly considered diagnosis in clinical practice. We report splenic tuberculosis in three patients with AIDS who were admitted to the hospital because of fever and constitutional syndrome. In all of the patients, abdominal sonography and abdominal computed tomography revealed multiple hypoechoic and hypodense lesions, respectively. In two patients needle aspiration of the spleen with sonographic control was the diagnostic procedure. In the third patient the diagnosis was confirmed after splenectomy. In AIDS patients tuberculosis must be included in the differential diagnosis of hypoechoic and hypodense lesions by means of sonography and computed tomography, respectively, especially in those patients with active tuberculosis.