Tuberculosis of pancreas and peripancreatic lymph nodes: a case report

Tuberculosis (TB) is a common disease in developing countries. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, the population of the Islamic Republic of Iran was 71 208 384 in 2007, with an estimated incidence of TB (all cases) of 22/100 000 population/year [1]. In 1999, the highest and lowest TB rates in the provinces of the country were 137/100 000 (Sistan va Baluchestan) and 10/100 000 (Khorasan) respectively [2]. The development of abdominalTB is independent of the pulmonarydisease, with a reported incidence of co-existing disease varying from 5% to 36% [3]. Intra-abdominal TB usually involves the liver, spleen, bowel, peritoneum and mesenteric lymph nodes. Unusual presentationsof digestive tract TB are more likely in immunocompromised patients [4].Pancreatic TB is an extremely rare clinical entity [5]. We report here a case of pancreatic TB in a patient who presented with a pancreatic mass. To the best of our knowledge, the first report from the Islamic Republic of Iran.