A Rare Case of Pancreatic Tuberculosis Diagnosed via Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration and Polymerase Chain Reaction

Pancreatic tuberculosis (TB) is a very rare condition even in endemic areas of the world where the disease is considered to be highly prevalent. The presenting features are usually vague and its radiological features mimic pancreatitis and pancreatic malignancy. We present a case of a 26-year-old active military male, originally from Virginia with no past medical history who presented to the ED with a two-week history of abdominal pain, increased nausea and vomiting, decreased appetite, increased darkening of his urine, and pale-colored stools. His physical examination was remarkable for conjunctival icterus as well as generalized abdominal tenderness. His laboratory results were remarkable for a total bilirubin of 4.7 mg/dL, direct bilirubin of 3.9 mg/dL, and alkaline phosphatase of 583 U/L. A CT scan was performed showing an intrahepatic dilatation and abrupt obstruction of the common bile duct at the level of a mass. Subsequent MRI of the abdomen was performed which showed a pancreatic mass at the uncinate process obstructing the common bile duct and causing intrahepatic bile dilation. The patient was deemed a surgical candidate and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)/endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) was performed for the sake of staging and showed a biliary compression in the middle of the common bile duct for which a stent was placed, and fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of the pancreatic mass was performed which was consistent with necrotizing granulomatous lymphadenitis. After further diagnostic studies, the patient was diagnosed with pancreatic TB. This case highlights the unusual presentation of extrapulmonary TB as well as the importance of EUS-guided FNA in diagnosing pancreatic TB which was presumed to be a malignant mass and candidate for unnecessary surgical resection.

Keywords: endoscopic ultrasound (eus); endoscopy ercp; pancreatic malignancy.