[A case of gallbladder tuberculosis diagnosed by positive tuberculosis-polymerase chain reaction]

Gallbladder tuberculosis is an extremely rare disease that is rarely reported in the literature. Arriving at the correct diagnosis of gallbladder tuberculosis is difficult, and it is usually made by histopathologic examination after cholecystectomy. However, due to the low sensitivity of acid-fast stain and culture result, diagnosing gallbladder tuberculosis is still demanding even after tissue acquisition. To overcome this problem, tuberculosis-polymerase chain reaction (TB-PCR) is performed on the resected specimen, which has high sensitivity and specificity. A 70-year-old female who had previously undergone total gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer was admitted with right upper quadrant pain. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed acute cholecystitis without gallstones or sludge. She underwent cholecystectomy and the histopathologic finding of the specimen showed chronic active cholecystitis without gallstones or sludge. Because she was suspected to have pulmonary tuberculosis, TB-PCR was also performed on the resected gallbladder. TB-PCR showed positive reaction for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and we could diagnose it as gallbladder tuberculosis. Herein, we present a case of gallbladder tuberculosis diagnosed by TB-PCR from resected gallbladder.