[Semeiotics of abdominal tuberculosis]

Examination of 119 patients with abdominal tuberculosis permitted the description of the characteristic semiotics of the illness. Today the patients with abdominal tuberculosis are mainly women of child-bearing age with a long-term tuberculosis catamnesis and intoxication, with a history of tuberculosis of different sites, those suffering from tuberculosis or its sequels at present (64%), those with pains (94%), discomfort or swelling of the abdomen (79%), malfunction of the gastrointestinal tract (65%), weight loss (86%), malnutrition (72%), anemia (63%), not infrequently with inflammatory induration (43%) or ascites in the abdominal cavity (39%). In addition to this characteristic semiotics, the patients with abdominal tuberculosis may demonstrate the most different and unexpected symptoms up to acute abdomen (23%). To make differential diagnosis of abdominal tuberculosis, one has often to resort to diagnostic laparotomy, laparoscopy, Koch's test and to trial therapy.