Tuberculosis is a common disease in the developing world and its incidence is slowly increasing in developed countries where a resurgence has been seen subsequent to the AIDS epidemic. Tuberculosis, in its extrapulmonary form, though emerging as a clinical problem, rarely affects the pancreas. The pancreas is biologically protected from being infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Pancreatic tuberculosis presents with a wide spectrum of symptoms such as abdominal pain, constitutional symptoms, obstructive jaundice, iron deficiency anemia,pancreatic abscess, massive gastro-intestinalbleeding, acute/chronic pancreatitis, secondary diabetes, splenic vein thrombosis and a pancreatic mass mimicking malignancy. It should be suspected clinically in patients having a pancreatic mass, particularly if the patient is young, not jaundiced, coming from an area of high tuberculosis endemicity and having a normal endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography. Its indolent course and vague symptomatology along with non-specific laboratory and radiological findings call for greater vigilance.
Last date updated on September, 2024
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