Ileocaecal Tuberculosis Presenting with Massive Hematochezia: A Rare Clinical Manifestation

Abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, anorexia, and fever are common symptoms of intestinal tuberculosis, while bleeding from the lumen, intestinal obstruction, perforation, and fistula formation are uncommon presentations in ileocaecal tuberculosis. Here, we present a case of a 33-year-old male with intestinal tuberculosis who initially presented with massive bleeding per rectum.

A combination of circulating microRNA-375-3p and chemokines CCL11, CXCL12, and G-CSF differentiate Crohn’s disease and intestinal tuberculosis

Differentiation of Crohn’s disease (CD) from intestinal tuberculosis (ITB) is a big challenge to gastroenterologists because of their indistinguishable features and insensitive diagnostic tools. A non-invasive biomarker is urgently required to distinguish ITB/CD patients particularly in India, a TB endemic region, where CD frequency is increasing rapidly due to urbanization. Among the three differentially expressed miRNAs obtained from small RNA transcriptomic profiling of ileocaecal/terminal ileal tissue of ITB/CD patients (n = 3), only two down-regulated miRNAs, miR-31-5p, and miR-215-5p showed comparable data in qRT-PCR. Out of which, only miR-215-5p was detectable in the patient’s plasma, but there was no significant difference in expression between ITB/CD. On the other hand, miR-375-3p, the pulmonary TB specific marker was found in higher amount in the plasma of ITB patients than CD while reverse expression was observed in the ileocaecal/terminal ileal tissues of the same patients. Next, using Bioplex pro-human cytokine 48-plex screening panel, only three chemokines, Eotaxin-1/CCL11, SDF-1α/CXCL12, and G-CSF have noted significantly different levels in the serum of ITB/CD patients. ROC analysis has revealed that compared to a single molecule, a combination of miR-375-3p + Eotaxin-1/CCL11 + SDF-1α /CXCL12 + G-CSF showed a better AUC of 0.83, 95% CI (0.69–0.96) with 100% specificity and positive predictive value while sensitivity, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 56%, 69%, and 78% respectively in distinguishing ITB from CD. This study suggests that a combination of plasma markers shows better potential in differentiating ITB from CD than a single marker and this panel of markers may be used for clinical management of ITB/CD patients.

Difficulties in the differential diagnosis of intestinal tuberculosis and Crohn‘s disease

The differential diagnosis of intestinal tuberculosis and Crohn’s disease is a difficult task for most specialists due to their high similarity in clinical manifestations, instrumental diagnosis and histological pattern.The aim: to consider the clinical and diagnostic features of intestinal tuberculosis and Crohn’s disease, to show the role of various methods of their diagnosis (CT of the abdominal cavity, CT-enterography, colonoscopy with biopsy).A clinical example shows a case illustrating the difficulties of diagnosing intestinal tuberculosis, initially diagnosed as Crohn’s disease. The features of the course, complex diagnosis and treatment of intestinal tuberculosis and its complications during immunosuppression are demonstrated. At the first stage of treatment, the patient’s data related to CT of the chest organs, colonoscopy and histological examination of biopsy samples were incorrectly interpreted. As a result, a wrong diagnosis of Crohn’s disease was made, and immunosuppressive therapy was prescribed that provoked a generalization of the existing tuberculosis process. Subsequently, repeated surgical interventions were performed for complications of intestinal tuberculosis – perforation of tuberculous ulcers, peritonitis. Based on the analysis of the literature data and our own observation, it is shown that granulomatous inflammation in the study of intestinal biopsies doesn’t always allow us to make a clear diagnosis, first of all, there are intestinal tuberculosis and Crohn’s disease in the differential diagnostic series. The use of histobacterioscopy according to Ziehl – Neelsen, the study of fecal matter by luminescent microscopy, as well as molecular genetic methods for detecting DNA MTB allow us to verify the diagnosis. If Crohn’s disease is misdiagnosed as intestinal tuberculosis, then the prescribed anti-tuberculosis therapy can cause harm and lead to a delay in the underlying disease treatment. The reverse misdiagnosis is potentially more dangerous: if tuberculosis is misdiagnosed as Crohn’s disease, then the appointment of immunosuppressive therapy can lead to the generalization of tuberculosis and the development of fatal complications.

A Case of Intestinal Tuberculosis Mimicking Crohn’s Disease: A Clinical and Diagnostic Dilemma

This case highlights the importance of differentiating between Crohn’s disease and intestinal tuberculosis. The rates of misdiagnosis of Crohn’s disease and intestinal tuberculosis range from 50% to 70% because of their non-specific and clinically similar manifestations.If intestinal tuberculosis is misdiagnosed as Crohn’s disease, use of immunomodulatory drugs commonly used for Crohn’s disease can increase the risk of disseminated tuberculosis. Here we present a case highlighting the clinical similarity between these two distinct medical conditions and suggest how a similar scenario can be approached, which can help to differentiate between the two otherwise very similar conditions.

Co-infection of intestinal tuberculosis and mucormycosis in a patient with Down syndrome: a unique case report with literature review

Mucormycosis represents several unusual opportunistic infection caused by saprophytic aseptate fungi. There is a recent rise in cases of mucormycosis due to an increase in diabetic and immunodeficient patients like patients on long-term steroids, immunomodulators due to organ transplantation, malignancies, mainly haematological malignancies, and autoimmunity. Anatomically, mucormycosis can be localised most commonly as rhino-orbito-cerebral followed by pulmonary, disseminated, cutaneous and gastrointestinal, rarest being small intestinal. Patients with Down syndrome are immunodeficient due to their impaired immune response. Disseminated tuberculosis is also common in immunodeficient patients. We report a rare case of small intestinal mucormycosis in a patient with Down syndrome with coexisting intestinal tuberculosis. Due to the invasiveness of mucormycosis, the patient succumbed to death despite providing aggressive surgical debridement and medical management.

A Rare Case of Pneumoperitoneum in Pregnancy: Perforation of Tubercular ileal Ulcer

The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is rising worldwide, despite the efficacy of the BCG vaccination. Populations at greatest risk of contracting TB are migrant communities, as well as immunocompromised individuals. The diagnosis of intestinal tuberculosis can often present as a diagnostic conundrum, due to its nonspecific and varied presentation, often mimicking inflammatory bowel disease or malignancy. Free perforation is one of the most feared complications of the intestinal tuberculosis. The terminal ileum is the most common site of perforation, while the majority of (90%) perforations are solitary. We present a 25 year old 17 weeks primi presented with peritonitis with solitary perforation of terminal ileum with miscarriage of fetus and subsequent surgical wedge resection of ileum and ileo-ileal anastomosis. Histology revealed presence of Langerhan’s cell with caseating granulomatous inflammation. There was no radiological evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis. Patient was started on anti-tubercular therapy and responded well. This present case underscores the importance of biopsy specimens taken from the margins of patients with ileal perforation to avoid the misdiagnosis of such condition.