Clinical review of 23 patients with tuberculous peritonitis: Presenting features and diagnosis

OBJECTIVE: To better identify which clinical, laboratory, radiological and invasive procedures were most useful in diagnosing tuberculous peritonitis and to assess the methods in order to reach the diagnosis in future cases. METHODS: Tuberculous peritonitis cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2006 were reviewed retrospectively. Their clinical presentation, physical examination, laboratory and diagnostic methods were evaluated. RESULTS: Twenty-three cases of tuberculous peritonitis were diagnosed. The mean age of the patients were 30 ± 11 years and 16 were women. The mean duration of symptoms prior to diagnosis was 3.6 months. All patients presented with abdominal pain. Abdominal swelling (91.3%), loss of appetite (87%) and weight loss (82.6%) were the other commonest symptoms. The major physical findings were ascites (78.3%) and fever (60.9%). The serum ascites albumin gradient was