Changing pattern of abdominal tuberculosis

ABSTRACT

Abdominal Tuberculosis continues to give rise to diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. The population at risk, the pattern of presentation and epidemiology is changing with time. A review of all [46] cases of abdominal tuberculosis admitted in two surgical units of Mayo Hospital Lahore [MHL] in a single year [1994] is presented. The majority of patients were female, in their second or third decade of life, admitted through emergency with acute presentation. Only 41.3% were elective cases with subacute clinical features. Active pulmonary lesion was present in 19.6% cases. Diagnosis was established at laparotomy in 95.65% patients. Only in two patients diagnosis was made through less invasive means. Intestines were the most commonly involved organ in the disease process, resection of diseased segment with end to end anastomosis was the most commonly performed procedure [47.8%]. Other surgical procedures were mesenteric lymph node / omental biopsy, closure of perforation with or without proximal bypass, adhenolysis, transverse colectomy and salpingo oopherectomy. Morbidity in this series was 18% and mortality 6.5% with mean hospital stay of 9 days