Gallbladder tuberculosis in a dialysis patient: a case-report

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of gallbladder tuberculosis remains elusive even to the most experienced clinicians. Our aim is to describe our experience of this rare disease, and to raise awareness of the increasing likelihood of tuberculosis in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patient. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a rare case of gallbladder tuberculosis in a chronic kidney disease patient on hemodialysis. This combination is rarely reported in literature. No signs of abdominal tuberculosis were observed besides a clinical profile consistent with CKD in our patient. The clinical signs of uremia masks those of abdominal tuberculosis and render the pre-operative diagnosis of tuberculosis more difficult. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical signs of uremia conceal those of abdominal tuberculosis. The diagnosis of tuberculosis in CKD patients hinges mainly on a high index of suspicion, perioperative findings and histological examination.