Tuberculoma of the Spleen: A Rare but Important Clinical Entity

Abstract

Tuberculoma of the spleen has been an extremely rare entity during the last decades in the Western world. We describe a case in a young, HIV-negative woman who was evaluated for fever of unknown origin. The workup was initially negative, and she was treated successfully with steroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics. Recurrence of the fever and an abnormal CT of the abdomen lead to an exploratory laparotomy, which revealed a subcapsular caseous material containing splenic abscess. The very few cases reported in the literature, and the increasing incidence of extrapulmonary tuberculosis due to the alarming numbers of immunodeficient patients that a surgeon may encounter are also discussed.