TB Research

Gastric tuberculosis presenting as a large gastric ulcer

Alanood Eisameldin Elterefi, Ahmad Kanaan Uwaydah, Gamal Rashed Helal, Nidal M M Hassan

BMJ Case Reports · 2022-05

Abstract

While gastrointestinal (GI) tuberculosis (TB) accounts for 1%-3% of all TB cases worldwide, TB of the stomach is extremely rare and accounts for 1%-2% of all GI TB. Little is known about this entity, and most data are obtained from case reports. We report a case of a woman in her 60s who presented with a 2-week history of generalised weakness, fatigue and shivering, with severe loss of appetite on background history of dyspepsia and significant weight loss for the preceding 2 years. Upper endoscopy revealed a large gastric ulcer. Biopsy and histopathology revealed caseating granulomas with numerous acid-fast bacilli detected with Ziehl-Neelsen stain. She was diagnosed with gastric TB. Subsequently, she was also diagnosed with pulmonary, adrenal and colonic involvement.

MeSH terms

  • Medicine
  • Weight loss
  • Gastroenterology
  • Histopathology
  • Tuberculosis
  • Internal medicine
  • Stomach
  • Past medical history
  • Biopsy
  • Endoscopy
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  • Medical history
  • Helicobacter pylori
  • Surgery