[Tuberculosis of the contralateral adrenal gland: a case report]

Unilateral adrenal tuberculosis is a very rare disease. A 66-year-old woman presented with epigastric discomfort and general fatigue. Abdominal CT scan revealed a homogeneous mass shadow in the right adrenal region. Findings of physical examination were normal except that the patient was obese. Hormonal data were in normal range. Adrenal scintiscanning demonstrated no RI uptake in the right adrenal gland. Right adrenalectomy was performed under the diagnosis of nonfunctioning tumor of the right adrenal gland. Histopathological examination, however, revealed typical tuberculosis with Langhans' type of giant cells and infiltrated lymphocytes. Of 322, 148 autopsies performed during the twelve years between 1970 and 1981 in Japan, 228 cases of adrenal tuberculosis were recognized. Furthermore, only 18 cases had tuberculous regions in the adrenal gland alone.