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Case report
Tuberculosis masquerading as metastasis in liver: a rare and an unusual presentation
  1. Vishakh C Keri,
  2. Pankaj Jorwal,
  3. Parul Kodan and
  4. Ashutosh Biswas
  1. Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi, India
  1. Correspondence to Dr Pankaj Jorwal; pankajjorwal.aiims{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Hepatosplenic space occupying lesions are usually labelled as metastasis. This case highlights the importance of thinking beyond malignancy and the importance of adopting a systematic approach when dealing with such lesions that have a plethora of close differentials. Hepatosplenic tuberculosis is a rare form of extra pulmonary tuberculosis. Timely diagnosis and treatment turned the table from a probable dismal prognosis to a completely curable cause. We report an unusual case, which was provisionally labelled as malignancy, due to isolated liver and spleen involvement but on evaluation turned out to be tuberculosis. The patient got cured with 6 months of anti-tubercular therapy. The report also brings to light the possible use of molecular methods like cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test in diagnosing hepatobiliary tuberculosis, the literature about which is very scarce and limited.

  • infection (gastroenterology)
  • TB and other respiratory infections

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Footnotes

  • Twitter @Vishakh Keri

  • Contributors VCK: patient management, script writing, script editing and finalising the literature search. PJ: patient management, script critical review, editing and finalising. PK: script critical review, editing and finalising. AB: patient management and script critical review.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent for publication Obtained.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.