Abdominal tuberculosis.

The abdomen is involved in 10% to 30% of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. The diagnosis is not difficult in societies where the disease is common and clinicians are aware of it. While previously rare in Western countries, the incidence is now rising among immigrants, and patients with AIDS. In HIV-infected patients, the disease is of a rapidly progressive nature, often fatal through usually treatable, but the diagnosis is difficult and often delayed. Treatment is essentially medical but occasionally surgical operation is necessary.