CT features in abdominal tuberculosis: 20 years experience.

Tariq Sinan¹ , Mehraj Sheikh¹ , Salwa Ramadan² , Sukhpal Sahwney² and Abdulla Behbehani³

¹Department of Radiology, Kuwait University, Jabriya, Kuwait

²Department of Radiology, Adan Hospital, Kuwait

³Department of Surgery, Kuwait University, Jabriya, Kuwait

author email corresponding author email

BMC Medical Imaging 2002, 2:3doi:10.1186/1471-2342-2-3


Published:	12 November 2002

Abstract

Background

Abdominal tuberculosis (TB) is endemic in the developing world and is reemerging in the West. Since computed tomography (CT) has the ability to demonstrate changes in the peritonium, mesentry, lymphnodes, bowel and solid organs and is being increasingly used for primary evaluation of abdominal conditions, it is important to be familiar with the CT features of the disease.

Methods

CT findings were retrospectively analysed in 49 patients with proved abdominal TB. Patients with genitourinary TB and with AIDS/HIV were not included in the study.

Results

Peritoneal involvement was the most common feature (77.5%) with ascites (wet peritonitis) seen in more than half the cases (55.2%). The rest showed peritoneal, mesenteric or omental thickening or mass formation but no ascites (dry peritonitis). Other findings included lymphadenopathy (46.9% mainly of diffuse nature, bowel wall thickening (38%) and solid organ involvement (20.4%).

Conclusions

CT reliably demonstrates the entire range of findings which need interpretation in the light of clinical and laboratory data.