Gastric tuberculosis. Review apropos of a case

Abdominal tuberculosis (TB) is infrequent in the Western world. This disease occurs more commonly among at-risk populations, mainly among older patients and patients with HIV infection. Abdominal TB usually manifests as intestinal TB, peritoneal TB, and mediastinal lymphadenitis. Gastric TB is a rare manifestation of abdominal TB. We present the case of an 80-year-old man, who had been diagnosed with anemia 2 years previously without establishing the etiology. Treatment consisted of oral iron administration without improvement. Symptoms included epigastralgia, nausea and vomiting, as well as asthenia, anorexia and weight loss (approximately 20 kg in 2 years). A computed tomography scan showed mediastinal and mesenteric adenopathy, ascites, splenomegaly, and thickening of the gastric wall. Diagnosis was made by endoscopic biopsy of the affected areas in the antral region, the result being granulomatous chronic gastritis suggestive of tubercular origin.