Solitary splenic tuberculosis: a case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis remains one of the most prevalent and fatal infectious diseases in spite of considerable improvements in medical science. Tuberculosis is an important health problem in developing countries. There are few cases of solitary splenic tuberculosis reported in the literature internationally. Solitary splenic tuberculosis is extremely rare and is mostly seen in individuals with immunosuppression. Patients susceptible to acquiring splenic tuberculosis usually have some risk factors such as immunosuppression, pyogenic infections, splenic abnormalities, spleen trauma, sickle cell disease, and so on (Basa JV, Singh L, Jaoude WA, Sugiyama G, Int J Surg 8C:117–119,2015). CASE PRESENTATION: Here we report a case of surgically confirmed mass-forming solitary splenic tuberculosis in a 64-year-old woman who presented with abdominal discomfort for two months, but with no other symptoms. Laboratory data provided no specific information for diagnosis. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed a large hypoechoic lesion within the spleen. Computed tomography scan of the abdomen showed a solitary hypodense lesion. A diagnosis of solitary splenic tuberculosis was confirmed after a splenectomy was performed and histopathological examination revealed splenic tuberculosis. CONCLUSIONS: Solitary splenic tuberculosis is rare and associated with an immunocompetent patient is extremely rare. It is hard to correctly diagnose it by US or CT scan.