Abdominal Tuberculosis in Children: A Diagnostic Challenge

Background/Purpose: Abdominal tuberculosis (TB) is a rare manifestation of childhood TB. Abdominal TB is characterized by long-lasting abdominal symptoms, which are usually confused with other conditions, and the diagnosis is usually delayed. Methods: During a 5-year period, we identified 10 cases of abdominal TB in a tertiary care children's hospital. Data including demographic characteristics, presenting symptoms, history of Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination, lesion sites, laboratory data, image findings, diagnosis, tuberculin skin test, risk factors, treatment, and outcome were collected and analyzed. Results: There were six female patients and four male patients, with a mean age of 14.7 years. One patient died due to the complication of disseminated TB with a pneumothorax. Household members with TB could be traced in six (60%) patients. The most common clinical presentations included fever (9/10), abdominal pain (8/10), and weight loss (8/9). The diagnosis of abdominal TB was suspected initially in only three patients; the others were not diagnosed until 7-36 days (mean=19 days) after hospitalization. The abnormal abdominal image findings, by either computed tomography or ultrasound, included lymphadenopathy (7/9), high-density ascites (6/9), thickening of the omentum or peritoneum (6/9), inflammatory mass (3/9), bowel wall thickening (1/9), and liver abscess (1/9). The chest radiography was abnormal in nine patients. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated from ascites in two out of four patients, gastric aspirates in three, sputum in three, and intra-abdominal tissue specimens in two. Laparotomy was performed in three patients, laparoscopy in one, and colonoscopy in one. Conclusion: In Taiwan, abdominal TB should be considered in patients with fever, abdominal pain, weight loss, and abnormal chest radiography. Characteristic computed tomography findings of abdominal TB and a history of exposure to TB contribute to the diagnosis.