CASE REPORT article
Front. Med.
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Pathogenesis and Therapy
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1622617
Adrenal Tuberculosis Causing Primary Adrenal Insufficiency: Diagnosis by Ultrasound-Guided Biopsy
Provisionally accepted
- West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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Abstract Adrenal tuberculosis, though a rare extrapulmonary manifestation of mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, remains a significant etiology of primary adrenal insufficiency in tuberculosis-endemic regions. We present a case of a 38-year-old asymptomatic female patient incidentally found to have bilateral adrenal nodules with calcifications during routine health screening. Laboratory tests revealed significantly elevated adrenocorticotropic hormone levels and low plasma cortisol, while imaging studies showed bilateral adrenal masses. Despite anatomically challenging access, an ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy was successfully performed. Histopathological analysis identified caseating granulomatous inflammation, and the positive T-SPOT.TB assay confirmed the diagnosis of adrenal tuberculosis. This case illustrates an innovative biopsy approach for anatomically complex adrenal lesions, underscoring the diagnostic utility of image-guided techniques in rare adrenal disorders.
Keywords: Adrenal tuberculosis, Primary adrenal insufficiency, Ultrasound-guided biopsy, ultrasound, ultrasound intervenion
Received: 04 May 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xiong, Wang, Zhou and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Boyang Yu, yuboyang@wchscu.edu.cn
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