Biliary tuberculosis causing cicatricial stenosis after oral anti-tuberculosis therapy

World J Gastroenterol. 2006 Aug 14;12(30):4914-7. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i30.4914.

Abstract

A 36-year-old Philippine woman presented with dark urine and yellow sclera. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) confirmed dilatation of the intrahepatic bile ducts and also showed an irregular stricture of the common hepatic duct at the liver hilum. Histological examination of biopsies from the bile duct revealed epithelioid cell granulomas and caseous necrosis. Tubercle bacilli were then detected on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of the bile, giving the diagnosis of biliary tuberculosis. Although microbiological cure was confirmed, the patient developed cicatricial stenosis of the hepatic duct. She underwent repeated treatments with endoscopic biliary drainage (EBD) tubes and percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) tubes, and the stenosis was corrected after 6 years. We present a case of tuberculous biliary stricture, a condition that requires careful differentiation from the more common malignancies and needs long-term follow-up due to the risk of post-treatment cicatricial stenosis, although it is rare.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Oral
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Antitubercular Agents* / adverse effects
  • Antitubercular Agents* / therapeutic use
  • Biliary Tract Diseases* / complications
  • Biliary Tract Diseases* / pathology
  • Constriction, Pathologic* / etiology
  • Constriction, Pathologic* / pathology
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Endoscopy
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Tuberculosis, Gastrointestinal* / complications
  • Tuberculosis, Gastrointestinal* / microbiology
  • Tuberculosis, Gastrointestinal* / pathology

Substances

  • Antitubercular Agents