Open AccessTuberculous abdominal abscess in an HIV-infected man: Neither infection previously diagnosed
Author(s) -
Kuo-Yao Kao,
Tsung-I Hung
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
southern african journal of hiv medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.859
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 2078-6751
pISSN - 1608-9693
DOI - 10.4102/sajhivmed.v11i2.228
Subject(s) - medicine , tuberculosis , abscess , surgery , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , quadrant (abdomen) , peritonitis , abdominal pain , seroprevalence , diverticulitis , pathology , immunology , serology , antibody
A 38-year-old man had a 1-week history of right lower quadrant abdominal pain; the initial impression was that he had diverticulitis of the ascending colon with an intra-abdominal abscess. Signs of peritonitis mandated an immediate right hemicolectomy. The unusual location of the abscess and the patient’s unusual postoperative course suggested that he might also have a systemic disease. Testing for HIV infection was positive. After 2 weeks in hospital, he was treated as an outpatient for both tuberculosis and HIV with a favourable outcome. \ud\udIn Taiwan a pre-operative HIV test is not performed routinely, and the HIV seroprevalence in surgical patient populations is unknown. Surgeons should keep the possibility of HIV infection in mind in a patient with an unusual clinical course