Multiple Intestinal Strictures with Perforation in a Patient under Antitubercular Treatment for Abdominal Tuberculosis

Abstract

Abdominal tuberculosis (TB) constitutes about 12% of the extrapulmonaryTB. Abdominal TB can present with varying signs and symptoms likevague abdominal pain, abdominal mass, ascites and intestinal obstruction. Intestinal perforation is a relatively uncommon but a serious complication of abdominal TB. Antitubercular drugs are considered extremely effective but their role in the presence of a stenotic lesion of the bowel is controversial. Once symptoms of bowel obstruction or peritonitis appear, antitubercular drugs are of little use and surgery is inevitable. We report a case of abdominal TB in a patient under antitubercular treatment who later developed multiple intestinal strictures and a perforation.

Keywords:perforation; stricture; tuberculosis.