Distinctive endoscopic ultrasound features of isolated pancreatic tuberculosis and requirements for biliary stenting

There are insufficient data about the appearance of isolated pancreatic tuberculosis on endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). The safety and efficacy of antitubercular therapy (ATT) in patients with pancreatic tuberculosis with cholestasis are also relatively unknown.

We evaluated 6 patients with isolated pancreatic head tuberculosis retrospectively and compared their EUS findings with those of 25 patients with pancreatic head adenocarcinoma.

There was no difference in the EUS appearance between the 2 diseases. The mean diameter of the common bile duct was significantly greater in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The pancreatic duct was dilated in 20 of 25 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (80%), whereas it was dilated in only 1 of 6 patients with pancreatic tuberculosis (16.6%) (P < .05). All 6 patients with pancreatic tuberculosis had a resolution of their cholestatic symptoms within 4 weeks of starting ATT alone. None of these patients required biliary stenting.

None of the EUS features of a mass lesion caused by pancreatic tuberculosis are distinctive. Once diagnosed, these patients can be successfully treated with ATT without needing biliary stenting.