Tuberculous peritonitis in children: Two case reports highlighting the important role of imaging

Tuberculous peritonitis is an uncommon extrapulmonary form of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, frequently presenting with nonspecific and insidious symptoms. Diagnosis is therefore difficult, unsuspected, and often delayed, especially in the pediatric patient without an obvious history of exposure to the pathogen. This report presents a 9-year-old Hispanic girl and a 3-year-old African American boy presenting with nonspecific and insidious symptoms, such as abdominal pain, distention, and fever in whom computed tomography findings of peritoneal thickening and enhancement, high density ascites, lymphadenopathy, and bowel wall thickening acted as key components in establishing a final diagnosis of the condition. Computed tomography is an important clinical adjuvant in making this difficult diagnosis.