[Intestinal perforation caused by tuberculosis in a kidney transplant patient who was extensively evaluated for tuberculosis prior to transplant]

A 47-year-old man from Armenia presented at the emergency department with abdominal pain. He had had a kidney transplant 2 years earlier for renal failure caused by amyloidosis that was secondary to familial Mediterranean fever. He was also known to have chronic hepatitis B with persistent viraemia. He had not received any prophylactic anti-tuberculosis treatment due to impaired liver function, but an extensive work-up was performed prior to transplant, including chest radiography, a Mantoux tuberculin skin test and cultures from 3 consecutive fasting gastric lavage samples, which were all negative for active or latent tuberculosis infection. The patient had presented at the emergency department repeatedly with abdominal pain that was attributed to the familial Mediterranean fever. During his last visit his complaints were accompanied by vomiting, coughing, night sweats and weight loss. He was diagnosed with an intestinal perforation with faecal peritonitis and underwent several laparotomies to treat the faecal peritonitis. Histopathological examination of resected bowel tissue revealed granulomatous inflammation, and acid-fast bacilli were seen with appropriate staining. Later, cultures appeared to be positive for normally sensitive Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The patient died as a result of the disseminated tuberculosis. In immunocompromised patients, tuberculosis often has an atypical course and an increased chance of dissemination that may be difficult to recognize.