Abdominal Tuberculosis With Pancreatic Head Involvement Mimicking Pancreatic Malignancy in a Young Man: A Case Report

Abstract Background： Pancreatic tuberculosis is a rare disease, even in immuocompentent hosts. Abdominal tuberculosis involving the pancreatic head and peripancreatic areas may simulate pancreatic head carcinoma. Case presentation: We herein present the case of a 32-year-old man who was admitted to our hospital for intermittent epigastric pain and weight loss. Computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a mass in the head of the pancreas.The lesion was initially diagnosed as pancreatic head carcinoma on abdominal imaging. Laparotomy confirmed the diagnosis of pancreatic tuberculosis, while he test for acid-fast bacilli was negative before operation and the patient fully recovered after six month of standard anti-tuberculosis treatment. Conclusions: The present case is reported to emphasize the importance of including pancreatic tuberculosis in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic lesions, under the premise of safety, we recommend endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy for diagnosis.