A case of liver hilar tuberculous lymphadenitis complicated by biliary stricture diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration

This report describes a case of liver hilar tuberculous lymphadenitis complicated by biliary stricture, diagnosed with endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA). A 44-year-old woman was referred to our center for further evaluation of abnormal liver function tests. Abdominal ultrasound/contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) revealed a 15-mm hypovascular mass with a weakly enhanced margin at the liver hilum. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography revealed dilatation of the intrahepatic bile ducts in the left lobe of liver and gradual narrowing of the left hepatic duct. Biliary stricture associated with enlarged hilar lymph nodes due to metastasis or malignant lymphoma was suspected, but calcification on chest CT and a positive T-SPOT test did not rule out tuberculosis. After transpapillary brush cytology of the bile duct stricture failed to confirm the diagnosis, EUS-FNA of hilar lymph nodes was performed and showed positive for the acid-fast bacillus and polymerase chain reaction for Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA as well as epithelioid granulomas on pathological evaluation. Those findings led to a diagnosis of hilar tuberculous lymphadenitis. The patient is under treatment with antituberculosis drugs. Abdominal tuberculous lymphadenitis is rare and some cases diagnosed as lymphadenopathy of unknown origin have required surgery. EUS-FNA is a safe and minimally invasive diagnostic method in such cases.