Abstract
A 72-year-old woman was admitted due to an intestinal obstruction. The intestinal obstruction was caused by a sigmoid colon cancer ; a sigmoidectomy was done. At laparotomy, multiple, small-sized nodules were found on the peritoneum, mesenterium, and the surface of the small intestine. Based on their macroscopic appearance it was assumed that they were peritoneal disseminations of the colon cancer. However on pathology, a small-sized nodule on the peritoneum that had been resected during surgery was diagnosed as tuberculous peritonitis. Tuberculous peritonitis is rare, and it is difficult to distinguish tuberculous peritonitis from peritoneal dissemination of advanced cancer. Therefore, suchlesions should be definitively diagnosed during cancer surgery to allow appropriate treatment to be instituted. Tuberculous peritonitis should be in the differential diagnosis of patients with miliary peritoneal nodules.
