Tuberculosis as a primary cause of oesophageal stricture: a case report
- Resource Type
- article
- Authors
- Ronald Mbiine; Ronald Kabuye; Herve Monka Lekuya; William Manyillirah
- Source
- Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vol 13, Iss 1, Pp 1-5 (2018)
- Subject
- Tuberculous oesophagitis
Oesophageal stricture
TB stricture
Surgery
RD1-811
Anesthesiology
RD78.3-87.3
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1749-8090
Abstract Background Tuberculous (TB) oesophagitis is a rare manifestation of dysphagia occurring in 0.3% of all gastro-intestinal tract TB infections as well as 0.15% of all cases of dysphagia and often is misdiagnosed. This report presents a rare manifestation of TB as a cause of oesophageal stricture. Case presentation We describe a rare presentation of a patient with grade IV dysphagia due to an oesophageal stricture. Oesophagoscopy revealed a pinhole stricture with evidence of high grade dysplasia on histology. Subsequently an Ivor-Lewis oesophagectomy was performed and histology revealed evidence of active oesophageal tuberculosis. The patient had an uneventful recovery and completed anti-TB medication. Conclusions Oesophageal TB is a rare but curable cause of dysphagia. It may mimic cancer of the oesophagus and it is usually missed as a possible cause of oesophageal strictures. There needs to be an increased index of suspicion among patients with dysphagia in TB endemic regions.