Role of laparoscopy in the diagnosis and management of abdominal tuberculosis

Phthisis pulmonalis as called in past is nothing but the poverty stigmatous disease of underdeveloped nation commonly designated as Tuberculosis or TB. Recently it was labelled by WHO as a re-emerging global disease tormenting the underdeveloped as well as developed nations with increasing complexity and severity. 3,4 The complexity of TB is clearly evident by noting that this disease primarily involved the lung now involves all organs and systems. Abdominal TB is one such complex presentation. 7,8 Abdominal tuberculosis poses a complex diagnostic challenge for clinicians as presentation is often subtle. Symptoms may even be absent in some patients. Therefore it can be easily overlooked with an often delay in early diagnosis. 4,7,29 Recently laparoscopy have been increasingly recognized as a procedure that offers precise visual assessment of intra-abdominal condition, collection of specimen for biochemical, microbiological, histopathological analysis and prompt intervention. Against this background, this study was conducted to ABSTRACT