Tuberculous peritonitis

The records of 40 patients with tuberculous peritonitis treated at Charity Hospitals in Louisiana were reviewed. Thirty-nine patients were Negroes and 24, males. The average age was 36.5 years, with 22 of the patients being between the ages of 20 and 39 years. The most common symptoms were fever, abdominal pain, weight loss and abdominal swelling. The most frequent physical signs were abdominal tenderness, fever and ascites. Diagnosis was made by laparotomy in 24, peritoneoscopy in two, paracentesis in eight, autopsy in four and upon elective hernial repair in two. Four had a previous history of extra-abdominal tuberculous, four were known to have extra-abdominal tuberculosis at the time of diagnosis and four were found to have extra-abdominal tuberculous after the diagnosis of tuberculous peritonitis had been established. The follow-up interval averaged six and one-half years. Six patients died prior to discharge, and six patients died after discharge, none of the latter deaths was established as being due to tuberculosis. Twenty-two patients were alive at the end of the follow-up interval.