[Intestinal tuberculosis. A diagnostic challenge].

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a common disease in Spain, whose incidence has increased due to AIDS, immunotherapy and immigration. Intestinal disease is rare and can be difficult to diagnose because its symptoms and laboratory results are nonspecific. In addition, endoscopic lesions resemble those of other diseases such as Crohns disease (CD). Differentiating between intestinal TB and CD is very important since steroid treatment con be life saving in CD and lethal in intestinal TB. Colonoscopy plays an important role in establishing a suspected diagnosis. The endoscopic findings most characteristic of intestinal TB are circular ulcers, small diverticula (3-5 mm), and sessile firm polyps. The suspected diagnosis must be confirmed by the presence of caseating granulomas and/or acid fast bacilli. Polymerase chain reaction is currently recommended for assessing the presence of tubercle bacilli in tissue specimens obtained by endoscopic biopsy. We report a case of intestinal TB in a female renal transplant recipient that demonstrates the difficulty of making this diagnosis.