A case of peripancreatic tuberculous lymphadenitis diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration.

Tuberculous lymphadenitis is a rare cause of obstructive jaundice. Here, we report the case of a 33-year-old male with obstructive jaundice caused by tuberculous lymphadenitis around the pancreatic head. The patient was born in China and had immigrated to Japan at 12 years of age. He presented with acute abdominal pain and jaundice. Findings from ultrasonography, computed tomography, and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography were suggestive of a stenosis of the distal common bile duct caused by multiple low-density masses around the pancreatic head with a contrast-enhanced solid rim. We successfully diagnosed the mass as tuberculous lymphadenitis using endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA). The patient was treated with anti-tuberculous combination chemotherapy for 6 months, and subsequently exhibited clinical improvement. Thus, we found that EUS-FNA was a valuable minimally invasive method for diagnosing masses that cause icterus.