ABSTRACT
Granulomatous pancreatitis is a rare disorder and recognized rarely during life or non-operatively. Noncaseating granulomas in the pancreas, histologically indistinguishable from sarcoidosis, can be seen in a variety of diseases such as tuberculosis, fungal infection, berylliosis, Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Crohn's disease. Therefore, as with other granulomatous diseases, a tissue biopsy is essential for the diagnosis. Its clinical presentation is often similar to pancreatic cancer, with common presenting symptoms including abdominal pain, weight loss, jaundice, and anorexia. We report a case of idiopathic granulomatous pancreatitis in a 56-year-old women whose clinical and radiographic findings were suggestive of pancreatic cancer.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Abdominal Pain , Anorexia , Berylliosis , Biopsy , Crohn Disease , Diagnosis , Granuloma , Hodgkin Disease , Jaundice , Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin , Pancreas , Pancreatic Neoplasms , Pancreatitis , Sarcoidosis , Tuberculosis , Weight LossABSTRACT
Syphilitic granulomatous pancreatitis is an extremely rare condition,and can occur in the generalized acquired syphilitic patient in tertiary or secondary phase. The most serious problem with granulomatous pancreatic lesion is clinical or radiological misdiagnosis as cancer. We experienced a case of syphilitic granulomatous pancreatitis arising in 54 year old female patient. She was treated for syphilis 20years ago. But she and her husband are still strong positive to VDRL and TPHA. On abdominal computed tomography and endoscopic pancreatico- duodenography, there was an obstructive mass of low density in the distal common bile duct or pancreatic head. Under the preoperative diagnosis of pancreatic head carcinoma, Whipple's operation was done. On gross examination, the pancreas was fibrotic, and the common bile duct was well preserved without tumor mass. Microscopically, numerous intralobular noncaseating epithelioid cell granulomas with multinucleated giant cells are identified. They surround thick-walled, small to medium sized arteries and involve vascular wall with luminal narrowing or obliteration, which are characteristic findings of the syphilitic granuloma. The remaining parenchyme shows fibrosis, acinar atrophy or destruction with dense infiltration of lymphohistiocytes, plasma cells with granuloma formation. Although the Warthin-Starry stain reveals no spirochetes, the serologic result and pathologic findings are compatible with syphilitic granulomatous pancreatitis.