Abstract

Kshirsagar Ashok, Khairnar Nitinchandra Dadaji*, Kesarwani Abhinav, Yadav Parth, Rakshit Rajath

ABSTRACT

Background: Abdominal TB has been a great concern for surgeons as its prevalence has been found to be as high as 12% in cases with extrapulmonary TB. In India, TB is responsible for 5–9% of all cases of small intestinal perforations. Three types of intestinal lesions are seen: ulcerative, stricturous and hypertrophic. Ulcerative and stricturous lesions are common in the small intestine. The clinical presentation of this disease is non-specific and is a great challenge to clinicians. Materials and methods: The present study was a cross sectional hospital based study conducted among 38 confirmed cases of small intestinal tuberculosis (confirmed using radiological investigations) admitted under department of general surgery to study clinical presentation and epidemiological determinants associated with intestinal tuberculosis. Results: Majority of study subjects belonged to age group of 20-40 years (50%) followed by 40-60 years (34.21%). 73.68% cases presented with abdominal pain and anorexia, 76% cases presented with weakness, majority of the study subjects presented with low grade fever, weight loss, altered bowel habits. Some cases had history of vomiting and sense of abdominal fullness and long standing cough with expectoration. Conclusions: Symptoms of intestinal origin are often nonspecific and depends more upon extent of involvement and associated complications. However altered bowel habits often seems to be associated with small bowel tuberculosis.