Tuberculous Liver Abscess in a Case Without Lung Involvement

Received 13 April 2009; accepted 27 May 2009.

Hepatic tuberculosis is an uncommon form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, particularly when it presents in the form of liver abscess. Here, we report a 64-year-old man who was admitted to our hospital having experienced intermittent chills for 3 months. Aspiration of the liver abscess revealed neither bacteria nor acid-fast bacilli, but pus and granulation tissue were found. Antituberculous therapy was started empirically and cultures of the abscess confirmed the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis 3 weeks later. We suggest that tuberculous liver abscess should be considered in patients not showing typical features or who fail to respond to antibiotics.

Key Words: abscess , liver , tuberculosis

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Article Outline

• Abstract

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References

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Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan

Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Dr Shou-Wu Lee, Division of Gastroenterology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, 160 Chungkang Road, Section 3, Taichung, Taiwan

PII: S1607-551X(10)70015-2

doi:10.1016/S1607-551X(10)70015-2

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