[Acute peritoneal tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients. Study of 4 cases in Abidjan, Côte-d'Ivoire].

This paper presents 4 cases of histologically verified peritoneal tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients followed in a 18 month-period. The patients were admitted in emergency and were suspected of present acute appendiceal peritonitis. There were 3 females of 18, 22 and 27 years old, and a 41-year-old male. The main symptoms were acute abdominal pain (4 cases), fever superior to 38 degrees C (4 cases) and abdominal defence (4 cases). Laboratory findings were hyperleucocytosis with lymphocytic predominance, anemia and CD4+ rate variable from 250 to 460/mm3. They underwent emergency laparotomy which led to diagnosis of peritoneal tuberculosis by histopathological analysis of peritoneal biopsies. Two patients died from surgery at days 3rd and 10th. The 2 remaining patients were successfully treated by tuberculostatic tritherapy with rifampicin, isoniazid, and pirazinamid. Acute peritoneal tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients is not to be missed in our practice. It must be considered in differential diagnosis of acute abdomens.