Diagnosis and treatment of active adrenal tuberculosis: case report and literature review / 中华泌尿外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the diagnosis and treatment of active adrenal tuberculosis.Method The clinical data of 1 patients with adrenal tuberculosis was retrospectively analyzed and the related literatures were reviewed.The male patient,54 years old,complained abuot the dry cough and intermittent fever for 9 months.He was found the left adrenal gland tumor for 1 weeks and admitted to our hospital on November 1st,2016.The physical examination showed the obvious left kidney percussion tellderness.The local hospital,considered the left adrenal tumor.The pathological diagnosis of left adrenal tumor by biopsy was chronic inflammation.The patient accepted anti-inflammatory therapy,but his symptom was not relieved.In our hospital,blood bacterial culture and urine bacterial culture and PPD was negative.Blood tuberculosis antibody was positive.Triple acid-fast bacilli were negative in urine.Chest CT did not exclude the interstitial pulmonary tuberculosis.Adrenal contrast-enhanced CT showed mild enhancement,strip calcification shadow.Primary diagnosis was left adrenal tumor,which the abscess and tuberculosis could not to be excluded.Then,the patient accepted regularly anti-tuberculosis therapy (Isoniazid,0.3 g/d,rifampicin,0.45 g/d,ethambutol,0.6 g/d).Mter 3 days,his temperature returned to normal.Since the left adrenal mass was too large,which was about 6.8 cm × 5.5 cm,to distinguish with the tumor,the patient accepted successfully retroperitoneal adrenal tumor resection two weeks later.The left adrenal tumor surface was greyish and yellow,which was adherent with spleen and pancreas.After carefully separating,the tumor was successfully removed.Result The operation was successful,which last 85 min.Intraoperative blood loss was about 50 ml.Pathological report showed adrenal tuberculosis.The patients accepted regularly antituberculosis therapy(Isoniazid,0.3 g/d,rifampicin,0.45 g/d,ethambutol,0.6 g/d) for half a year,and followed up for 1 year after operation.No further hormone replacement therapy was used.No fever was noticed and his rhythm cortisol level was normal.Conclusions Adrenal mass associated with recurrent fever,should be suspected as adrenal tuberculosis if antibiotic therapy is not effective.If the adrenal CT showed adrenal calcification associated with the ectepic tuberculosis,patient should be diagnosised active adrenal tuberculosis.They should accept anti-tuberculosis treatment.However,if the volume of tuberculosis is large,or not to exclude tumor possibility,we recommend to proceed adrenal tumor resection for diagnosis.