1986 Volume 36 Issue 5 Pages 389-396
We experienced a case of gastric and terminal ileac tuberculosis diagnosed by endoscopic biopsy.
A 20-year-old woman visited our hospital because of epigastric pain on April 25, 1984. Laboratory findings revealed only moderate iron deficiency anemia and mild acceleration of blood sedimentation rate. Endoscopic examination of the stomach revealed multiple ulcers with an irregular margin on the lesser curvature of the gastric body and angle. Biopsy specimens of the stomach showed epithelioid cell granulomas with Langhans giant cells. Barium enema showed an irregular wall and small ulcers in the terminal ileum. Epithelioid cell granulomas with Langhans giant cells were also found in biopsy specimens of the terminal ileum.
A tentative diagnosis of tuberculosis was made and treatment with INH, RFP and EB was started. After one year, these endoscopic and histological findings had disappeared. From the therapeutic response to anti-tuberculous drugs, we considered that tuberculosis had been primarily responsible for these lesions.
Only fifteen cases of gastric tuberculosis diagnosed by endoscopic biopsy have been reported in Japan.
