Pancreatic tuberculosis causing biliary obstruction and mimicking pancreatic malignancy

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection which can affect any part of the body from head to toe and has various presentations depending on the site of the infection. Pancreatic TB is very rare and usually happens as a part of disseminated or miliary TB, whereas isolated pancreatic TB is even rarer. Here, we present a case of pancreatic TB at a TB endemic zone which presented with obstructive jaundice and pancreatic lesions mimicking pancreatic malignancy. A 46-year-old Saudi female patient presented with right upper quadrant abdominal pain associated with dark coloured urine and pale stool. The patient had been admitted to the surgical ward as a case of acute cholecystitis for further evaluation. On abdominal ultrasound (US), findings demonstrated dilated common bile duct (CBD), but the distal part was difficult to be visualised; hence, further evaluation by magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) was recommended to look for CBD stones. The MRCP showed two focal pancreatic lesions causing the distal CBD obstruction with no stones at CBD. Based on these findings, malignancy was considered and computed tomography-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy from the pancreatic neck lesion was performed. This demonstrated multiple granulomas and lymphocytes with no malignant cell which indicated pancreatic TB. The patient became well after a course of anti-TB medications. pancreatic TB should be included in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic masses, especially in those patients who live in an endemic area of TB. A biopsy is necessary to establish the diagnosis and start the appropriate treatment for this curable disease as soon as possible.