Intestinal tuberculosis can masquerade as Crohn's disease: A teachable moment.

Authors :: Kc P
Bhattarai M
Adhikari S
Parajuli P
Bhandari S
Bhattarai HB
Sharma NK
Karki S
Acharya S
Basnet B
Source :: SAGE open medical case reports [SAGE Open Med Case Rep] 2023 Jul 03; Vol. 11, pp. 2050313X231184342. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jul 03 (Print Publication: 2023).
Publication Year :: 2023
Abstract: Intestinal tuberculosis and Crohn's disease are chronic granulomatous diseases with similar clinical presentations and can mimic one another. Their treatment modalities are completely different; however, sometimes it is challenging to differentiate them. We report a case of a 51-year-old female presenting with abdominal pain and on-and-off diarrhea for 4 years with weight loss. Clinical symptoms along with multiple aphthous ulcers in the terminal ileum and negative tuberculin test favored the diagnosis of Crohn's disease. The patient did not respond to steroids. A repeat colonoscopy with acid-fast bacilli stain showed Mycobacterium tuberculosis . This case highlights that acid-fast bacilli culture and tuberculosis polymerase chain reaction to confirm or rule out the diagnosis of intestinal tuberculosis in all patients suspected of Crohn's disease.<br />Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.<br /> (© The Author(s) 2023.)