Primary Gastric Tuberculosis in an Immunocompetent Patient: The Truth Lying beneath the Surface.

Gastrointestinal tuberculosis is an uncommon entity, in which clinical presentation can be widely variable, from mild and nonspecific symptoms to an acute abdomen and gastrointestinal bleeding. Gastric involvement by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is rare, especially when it occurs without other recognized infectious foci - primary gastric tuberculosis - with only a few reported cases. Endoscopic findings can be very heterogeneous, from areas of hyperemia to pseudotumor lesions. We present a case of primary gastric tuberculosis in an immunocompetent patient, in which the absence of an epidemiological context and nonspecific endoscopic findings led to a delay in the diagnosis. Bite-on-bite biopsies proved to be essential, allowing to obtain samples from deeper layers of the submucosa where M. tuberculosis was identified. This case aimed to increase awareness for this entity, especially in endemic countries or regions with a high prevalence of tuberculosis since the diagnosis is based mainly on a high index of suspicion.

A tuberculose gastrointestinal é uma entidade pouco comum, com uma apresentação clínica amplamente variável, desde sintomas ligeiros e inespecíficos até quadros de abdómen agudo e hemorragia digestiva. O envolvimento gástrico pelo Mycobacterium tuberculosis é raro, especialmente quando ocorre sem outros focos infeciosos reconhecidos ­ tuberculose gástrica primária ­, havendo apenas alguns casos descritos na literatura. Os achados endoscópicos podem ser muito heterogéneos, variando desde áreas de mucosa hiperemiada até lesões pseudo-tumorais. Apresentamos o caso de uma doente imunocompetente com diagnóstico de tuberculose gástrica primária, em que a ausência de um contexto epidemiológico e achados endoscópicos inespecíficos conduziram a um atraso no diagnóstico. As biópsias sobre biópsias mostraram ser essenciais para o diagnóstico, pois permitiram obter amostras de camadas mais profundas da submucosa do antro gástrico onde foi identificado o agente infecioso. Este caso pretende sensibilizar para existência desta entidade, especialmente em países endémicos ou regiões com alta prevalência de tuberculose, uma vez que o seu diagnóstico implica um elevado grau de suspeição.

Gastroduodenal tuberculosis: a case series and a management focused systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Gastroduodenal tuberculosis is an uncommon form of abdominal tuberculosis. AREAS COVERED: We report our experience with five cases of gastroduodenal tuberculosis and present results of a systematic review on gastroduodenal tuberculosis regarding clinical presentation, endoscopic, imaging findings, and the diagnostic and therapeutic approach. EXPERT OPINION: The presentation of gastroduodenal tuberculosis is diverse and may include nonspecific abdominal pain or dyspepsia like symptoms apart from gastric outlet obstruction. Endoscopy may show presence of growth, ulcer, narrowing, or fistula on endoscopy. Endoscopic biopsy, well-biopsy, or mucosal resection of an elevated lesion are helpful. On microscopy, granuloma with or without acid fast bacilli positivity can be found. For treatment, standard antitubercular therapy should be given for 6 months. In patients with tight stricture, endoscopic balloon dilatation can be helpful. Surgery is reserved for patient with diagnostic dilemma, refractory stricture, or complications like perforation or fistula. Future research should focus on improving diagnosis with use of modern microbiological techniques like PCR and Xpert MTB/RIF.

Gastric tuberculosis masquerading as advanced malignancy in a young male.

Gastrointestinal tuberculosis usually involves ileum and cecum in three-fourth of cases. Isolated gastric involvement is uncommon in the absence of pulmonary tuberculosis or immunodeficiency in affected individuals. Here, we describe a case of tuberculosis involving stomach and colon in an immunocompetant young patient who presented to us with dyspeptic symptoms, pain abdomen, and melena. Morphologically, the lesion mimicked as advanced malignancy, but laparoscopic biopsy confirmed the diagnosis. The patient responded well to medical treatment. It should be emphasized that tuberculosis can involve any part of gastrointestinal tract including stomach even in immunocompetent individuals, and it should be kept as differential diagnosis of any chronic inflammatory lesion of stomach, especially in endemic countries as medical treatment is usually sufficient to provide a cure.

Gastric tuberculosis mimicking liver abscess - A case report.

Tuberculosis of the stomach is quite rare, both as a primary or secondary infection. It has varied presentation ranging from non-specific abdominal pain and constitutional symptoms to hematemesis, gastric outlet obstruction and pyrexia of unknown origin. Here, we report a rare, interesting case of locally advanced gastric tuberculosis, which morphologically mimicked liver abscess initially in a young, immunocompetent patient presenting with fever and abdominal pain. The disease was diagnosed by GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay, and responded well to antituberculosis medication without surgery. Clinicians must bear in mind that, even in the absence of immunodeficiency, as in this case, tuberculosis can involve any site in the gastrointestinal tract and may present with a variety of presentation and infiltrating adjacent organ that might be mistaken as malignancy. This is first case report of gastric tuberculosis, which is locally advanced with adjacent liver infiltration initially thought to be left lobe liver abscess.

Primary isolated asymptomatic gastric tuberculosis of the cardia mimicking gastric stromal tumor: a rare case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Primary isolated gastric TB of the cardia presenting as a submucosal tumor is extremely rare. CASE PRESENTATION: A 60-year-old female was admitted to our department; endoscopy revealed a smooth protruding lesion in the gastric cardia. The patient was diagnosed with a gastric cardia stromal tumor and the lesion was seen in muscularis propria by endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) revealed that the lesion was filled with a milky, white liquid and white granulation tissue. Acid-fast specimen staining was negative. Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed patches of caseating necrosis and granulomatous inflammation. Gene sequencing subsequent to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of the ESD specimen identified Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. TB) DNA fragments. The patient was put on ATT for 6 months. CONCLUSION: Primary isolated gastric TB of the cardia should be suspected in patients without clinical symptoms whose manifestations are similar to those associated with submucosal tumors. TB-PCR may be helpful for further diagnosis.

Gastric tuberculosis mimicking submucosal tumor: a case series.

BACKGROUND: Gastric tuberculosis mimicking submucosal tumors is extremely rare and often misdiagnosed. CASE PRESENTATION: Three cases of gastric tuberculosis mimicking submucosal tumors were identified among patients admitted to local county hospitals because of upper abdominal discomfort and pain, with gastroscopy showing gastric submucosal tumors. The patients were admitted to our hospital for endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). As EUS revealed evidence of tuberculosis for the first two patients, we first considered gastric tuberculosis. However, because of atypical characteristics of the miniature ultrasonic probe and EUS, the lesion in the third patient was misdiagnosed as a stromal tumor, and the patient underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), and intraoperative characteristics and postoperative pathology confirmed the lesion to be tuberculosis. CONCLUSIONS: EUS is of great value in the diagnosis of gastric tuberculosis, especially gastric tuberculosis mimicking submucosal tumors. Here, we summarize some significant characteristics of gastric tuberculosis by EUS, which will be of substantial value to clinical work.

Gastric tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis of the stomach is an extremely rare manifestation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and mimics gastric carcinoma in its presentation. Most of our knowledge about this rare disease comes from case reports and there are only a few case series published on this disease and thus the majority of the part remains uncovered. Diagnosis is made commonly only after a major surgery. Endoscopy and guided biopsy are the diagnostic modality of choice. Surgery is indicated in cases which present with complications. Patients respond well to antituberculous therapy. The authors encountered 4 cases of gastric tuberculosis over 5 years. This study summarises the available literature and gives comprehensive update on this rare disease.

Critical role of molecular test in early diagnosis of gastric tuberculosis: a rare case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUD: Early diagnosis of gastric tuberculosis is often challenging because the disease is very rare and its clinical manifestation is nonspecific and misleading. To raise the awareness and emphasize early diagnosis of gastric tuberculosis, we present a case of gastric tuberculosis secondary to pleural and pulmonary tuberculosis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 26-year-old woman complained gastric pain for 1 month but showed no other symptoms, who had no previous exposure to tuberculosis.Gastric stromal tumor was originally suspected. However, the pathology of her gastroscopic biopsy of the gastric lesion showed granulomatous lesions and caseating necrosis. Gene sequencing of the biopsy specimen identified deoxyribonucleic acid fragment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Chest computed tomography scan revealed nodular shadows in the lesser curvature soft tissue of the stomach, patchy densities and calcified nodular shadows in the upper right lung, bilateral pleural thickening, and calcified pleural nodules. Thus, the diagnosis was gastric tuberculosis secondary to pulmonary and pleural tuberculosis. The patient was hospitalized and treated with the antituberculosis therapy for 1 week. After discharged from the hospital, the patient continued routine antituberculosis therapy for 18 months and was follow-up was normal.Literature search found 22 cases of gastric tuberculosis reported from 2000 to 2016. Review of the 22 cases suggested that polymerase chain reaction has been increasingly used in the recent years in addition to the conventional histopathological and bacteriological approaches. CONCLUSION: Clinical presentation of gastric tuberculosis is not specific.When granuloma or caseation is detected on biopsy in patients who are suspected of having gastric malignancy or acid peptic diseases, polymerase chain reaction for Mycobacterium tuberculosis could be used as an available and sensitive diagnostic test in addition to pathology, acid-fast bacilli smear staining and culture.

F-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/ Computed Tomography Findings of Isolated Gastric Tuberculosis mimicking Gastric Cancer and Lymphoma.

INTRODUCTION: Tuberculosis (TB) infection is still a challenging health issue, especially in developing countries. Diagnosing extrapulmonary infections, especially isolated organ involvement, is difficult in most cases even with the radiological, endoscopic, and histopathological examinations done for accurate diagnosis. Here we describe a case of isolated gastric TB with specific F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) findings mimicking gastric cancer/ lymphoma. CASE REPORT: A 20-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital with abdominal pain in the epigastric region, weight loss, and fever especially at nights for 2 months. Physical examination was normal. Hemoglobin was 9.6 gm/dL; the patient had iron deficiency anemia. Upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy was suggestive of gastric ulcer mimicking malignancy. F-18 FDG PET/CT revealed multiple hypermetabolic malignant lymphadenopathies in the abdomen and diffuse gastric wall thickening as linitis plastica and multiple hypermetabolic peritoneal implants in the omentum. Exploratory laparotomy was done for tissue diagnosis and exploration of the peritoneum for TB infection, lymphoma, and Crohn's disease to make differential diagnosis. Histopathology revealed granulomatous lymphadenitis with granulomas including giant cells, suspecting TB. Patient was put on antituberculosis treatment (ATT). After treatment, the complaints resolved, and he gained weight. Fusion PET/CT exhibited a complete response to ATT with no residual disease. CONCLUSION: According to our knowledge, this is the first report about F-18 FDG PET/CT findings in the diagnosis of isolated gastric TB. F-18 FDG PET/CT may provide help in the diagnosis and follow-up of isolated gastric TB in challenging cases.How to cite this article: Akdogan RA, Rakici H, Güngör S, Bedir R, Akdogan E. F-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Findings of Isolated Gastric Tuberculosis mimicking Gastric Cancer and Lymphoma. Euroasian J Hepato-Gastroenterol 2018;8(1):93-96.

Hematemesis: Unusual presentation of isolated gastric tuberculosis.

A 25-year-old male presented with hematemesis, epigastric pain, and melena. He had dyspepsia with significant weight loss for 3 months period. On clinical examination, he was pale with no organomegaly or lymphadenopathy. The X-ray chest was normal, and ultrasound abdomen was normal. Upper GI endoscopy revealed nodularity and ulceration along proximal part of lesser curvature of the stomach. CT scan abdomen showed thickening of lesser curvature just below gastro-esophageal junction. The biopsies were negative for malignancy. Repeat upper GI endoscopy showed a nonhealing ulcer, on repeat well biopsies taken from the base of ulcer primary gastric tuberculosis was diagnosed. It showed many epithelioid cell granulomas and multinucleated giant cells with caseous necrosis on histology. Acid-fast bacilli on Zeil Neelsen staining and TB PCR were positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. He was put on four-drug anti-tuberculous treatment. On follow-up, the patient gradually improved and regained weight. Repeat upper GI endoscopy done after 8 weeks showed healing of the ulcer with decrease in nodularity.

Isolated gastric tuberculosis: a case report and review of literature.

Isolated gastric tuberculosis is a rare condition, even in those parts of the world where intestinal tuberculosis is common. Herein we describe a case of a thirty year old female patient with isolated gastric tuberculosis who presented with features of gastric outlet obstruction.

Primary gastric fundus tuberculosis in immunocompetent patient: a case report and literature review

We report on a 29-year-old Pakistani man who presented to the clinic with epigastric pain, of one-month duration. He did not report fever, cough, vomiting blood, passing black stools, loss of appetite or diarrhea. However, he had lost 7 kg since his symptoms had begun. Clinical examination was unremarkable. Laboratory results were within normal limits. An abdominal CT scan showed a mass with enhancement in the stomach. Gastric endoscopy revealed an ulcerative mass in the fundus. An endoscopic-biopsy specimen revealed caseating granulomas with acid-fast bacilli. The patient was diagnosed to have primary gastric tuberculosis, and antituberculous medications were initiated. Cultures of the gastric mass subsequently grew Mycobacterium tuberculosis sensitive to isoniazid and rifampcin. Follow-up after six months showed a good response to treatment; an upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy after six months was normal.

Apresentação de tuberculose com hemorragia digestiva alta: relato de caso / Tuberculosis presenting as upper gastrointestinal bleeding: case report

Tuberculose pode envolver qualquer parte do trato gastrointestinal, entretanto a localização gástrica é extremamente rara. Tuberculose gástrica pode mimetizar úlcera péptica ou neoplasia gástrica maligna, porém hemorragia digestiva alta é manifestação extremamente incomum da tuberculose gástrica. Nós relatamos um caso de tuberculose disseminada, em uma paciente com SIDA com repetidos episódios de melena e hematêmese. A biópsia realizada evidenciou micobacteriose antral, com presença de bacilos álcool-ácido resistentes na área ulcerada (AU)

Tuberculosis may involve any part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. However gastric involvement is extremely rare. Gastric tuberculosis may simulate peptic ulcer or gastric malignancy, but upper GI bleeding is an extremely uncommon manifestation. We report a case of disseminated tuberculosis in a patient with AIDS, with repeated episodes of melena and hematemesis. A biopsy revealed antral mycobacteriosis with the presence of acidfast bacilli in the ulcerated area (AU)

A Case of Gastric Tuberculosis Mimicking Advanced Gastric Cancer

Tuberculosis of the stomach is quite rare, both as a primary or secondary infection. It can present as a facet of a multiorgan disease process or may result from immunodeficiency. Here, we report a rare, interesting case of gastric tuberculosis which morphologically mimicked advanced gastric cancer in a young, immunocompetent patient presenting with hematemesis and melena. The disease was diagnosed by biopsy, and responded well to antituberculosis medication without surgery. Clinicians must bear in mind that, even in the absence of immunodeficiency, as in this case, tuberculosis can involve any site in the gastrointestinal tract and may present with a variety of characteristics. Gastric tuberculosis should always be part of the differential diagnosis of chronic infiltrative lesions in the stomach.

A Case of Tuberculosis Affecting Stomach and Duodenum Simultaneously, Mimicking Malignant Tumor / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Gastrointestinal tuberculosis has steadily decreased with the development of anti-tuberculous treatment, improvement of personal hygiene resulting from a rise in the standard of living, early diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, and so forth. However, gastrointestinal tuberculosis can occasionally be found clinically in South Korea where the prevalence of tuberculosis is as much as 2.2%. Prevalence of gastric tuberculosis is low, compared with other gastrointestinal tuberculosis. While there have recently been several reports on the occurrence of gastric tuberculosis and duodenal tuberculosis assuming the form of malignancy, few cases have been reported of the tuberculosis affecting stomach and duodenum simultaneously. In this article we report the case in which tuberculosis affects both stomach and duodenum, which was initially misconceived as a double primary cancer.

A Case of Primary Gastric Tuberculosis Presenting with Melena / 대한소화기내시경학회지

We experienced a case of primary gastric tuberculosis presented with melena. A 61-year-old male was admitted with epigastric pain and melena. Upper endoscopy revealed an irregular shaped gastric ulcer on the posterior wall of the body. Histological examination of endoscopic specimen revealed chronic inflammation with fibrosis, granulomas and acid-fast bacilli. Cultures for acid-fast bacilli subsequently grew Mycobacterium tuberculosis. There was no evidence of the tuberculous lesion anywhere else. Primary gastric tuberculosis remains an extremely uncommon clinical entity; the definitive diagnosis is made by biopsy and positive culture for the organism. We report a case of primary gastric tuberculosis with review of the literature.

Bleeding from a Tuberculous Gastric Ulcer in a Hemodialysis Patient / 대한신장학회잡지

The incidence of Tuberculosis among the patients with end-stage renal disease(ESRD) has increased up to 16 times of that in the general population. The impairment of the cellular immunity in the ESRD patients may have a role in the pathogenesis. Extrapulmonary tuberculous manifestations such as lymph node, peritoneum, and pleura involvement are more frequent in the ESRD patients than in the general population. However, there has been no case of upper gastrointestinal(UGI) bleeding as a result of a gastric tuberculosis in the ESRD patient on hemodialysis. Here we report an unusual case of a hemodialysis patient with UGI bleeding secondary to a tuberculous gastric ulcer. A 31-year-old female on hemodialysis was admitted with melena. Endoscopy revealed a benign gastric ulcer with a visible bleeding vessel at the base, located in the anterior wall of the antrum. An exploratory laparotomy showed multiple, round, small and yellow nodules on the visceral peritoneum as well as a 1-cm sized gastric ulcer. After gastric resection, a histological examination including peritoneal nodules demonstrated chronic granulomatous inflamation with caseous necrosis and giant cells. The patient has been on antituberculosis medication and followed up in the outpatient department without any event for 8 months.

Gastric Tuberculosis: A case report

A 34-year-old female presented with persistent indigestion and epigastric pain for several weeks. Upper GI series and abdominal CT revealed a submucosal tumor in the antrum of the stomach. Gastrofi beroscopy revealed a multi-lobulated protruding mass in the proximal antrum. Endoscopic biopsies were consistent with chronic inflammation with a focal ill-defined granulomatous area and lymphoid aggravation. At the time of operation, a hard mass was palpated at the greater curvature side of the proximal antrum, and large lymph nodes were noted along the gastroepiploic vessels. Biopsies of the wall of the stomach and the lymph nodes demonstrated caseous granulomas. Cultures for acid-fast bacilli subsequently grew Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Gastric tuberculosis remains an extremely rare clinical entity. We experienced a case of gastric tuberculosis, so we report it with a review of some articles.

A Case of Gastric Tuberculosis Presenting with Hematemesis / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Gastric tuberculosis is quite rare and usually combined with pulmonary tuberculosis. Its diagnosis is so difficult as it is often unsuspected. We report a patient with gastric tuberculosis who presented with hematemesis in Korea. Upper endoscopy showed large, deep penetrating ulcer containing an exposed vessel and adherent clot in the body. Gastric biopsies revealed only chronic inflammation and no evidence of granuloma or malignancy. Diffuse mural thickening was noted on abdominal CT. The diagnosis was made postoperatively following gastrectomy for bleeding gastric ulcer. Microscopic examination of resected stomach showed peptic detritus and noncaseating granulomas. However, multiple caseating granulomas with Lagerhan's giant cells were found on the examination of lymph nodes. The patient was treated with antituberculous therapy for 12 months without any complications.