Consumption Junction: A Case of Peritoneal Tuberculosis-induced Small Bowel Obstruction

• Main Authors: Kelly Peng, Dylan Arnold
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: eScholarship Publishing, University of California 2018-01-01
• Series: Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine
• Online Access: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9dp3b1hx

The rapid diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) is necessary to prevent the spread of infection to others and reduce morbidity and mortality. Atypical presentations are not often considered in the differential. This patient presented with fever and abdominal pain. Computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis showed small bowel obstruction, initially attributed to the patient’s Crohn’s disease. Chest radiograph showed diffuse interstitial lung disease, consistent with his diagnosis of sarcoidosis. He had multiple recent negative tuberculin skin tests documented. After being admitted to the surgical service and started on antibiotics, the diagnosis of abdominal TB was discovered following surgical exploration and tissue sampling.