COMPARISON OF COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHIC AND ULTRASONOGRAPHIC FINDINGS IN ABDOMINAL TUBERCULOSIS

Introduction: Abdominal TB is very common in third world countries with poor socioeconomic status like Pakistan. Majority of patients end up in intestinal obstruction and other complications and finally under-go surgery. Abdominal tuberculosis may be, enteric, peritoneal, nodal and solid visceral TB or in any com-bination of these four varieties. In some cases, res-ponse to therapeutic trials of anti-tuberculous drugs is the basis of diagnosis that may cause a delay in the diagnosis of other diseases which mimic abdominal tuberculosis. Therefore, diagnosis of abdominal tuberculosis is an ongoing challenge to the physicians, especially with limited resources. Ultrasound and CT are good diagnostic helping tools in diagnosis of abdominal tuberculosis. Objectives: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of Computerized Tomographic and Ultrasonographic findings in Abdominal Tuberculosis considering Histopathology as gold standard. Study Design: Comparative cross sectional. Setting: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Mayo Hospital Lahore. Duration of Study: Twelve months after the approval of synopsis, from June 2007 to May 2008. Subjects and Methods: 50 patients with clinically suspected abdominal tuberculosis who were candidate for elective surgery were selected. History, examination and relative investigation were recorded and analyzed with SPSS version 10. Results: CT is a better modality in finding ileocecal involvement, omentum involvement and paraaortic lymphadenopathy than USG and USG is slightly better in finding mesenteric lymphadenopathy than CT in abdominal tuberculosis. Conclusion: Although none is 100% accurate but there is difference in diagnostic accuracy of computerized tomographic and ultrasonographic findings in abdominal tuberculosis. In short combined together, these two modalities can be of great help in preoperative diagnosis of ATB and in decreasing the mortality and morbidity of the disease.