Tuberculous pancreatic abscess: an unusual manifestation of HIV infection

Pancreatic tuberculosis is unusual occurring in only 2.7% of autopsy studies of persons with miliary disease. Reports of focal pancreatic tuberculosis are rare, even in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in whom abdominal tuberculosis is a frequent feature. We describe two patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who developed tuberculous pancreatic abscesses. In both this was their AIDS-defining illness.