Bowel endometriosis: a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.

Bowel endometriosis is the most common extragenital manifestation of endometriosis. Clinical suspicion is of utmost importance for achieving its diagnosis. Management of this condition is, however, always challenging to the gynaecologist. We report a case of bowel endometriosis in which the patient presented with dyschezia and haematochezia prior to her menses for the past 2 years. A 44-year-old para two woman presented with worsening dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia. She also experienced dyschezia and haematochezia prior to her menses for the past 2 years. An examination revealed a fixed retroverted uterus. A computed tomography scan showed focal bowel thickening. She underwent a colonoscopy examination and biopsy that revealed stromal endometriosis. She was subsequently treated with dienogest and became asymptomatic. Diagnosis and management of this debilitating illness was revisited and discussed.

Abdominopelvic Tuberculosis Secondary to a Nontuberculous Mycobacterium in an Immunocompetent Patient.

Tuberculosis (TB) remained as one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide despite an overall decline in its incidence rate globally. Extrapulmonary TB is uncommon and only accounts for 10-20% of overall TB disease burden. Abdominopelvic TB is the sixth most common location of extrapulmonary TB. The symptoms and signs are often insidious and nonspecific. Diagnosing abdominopelvic TB can be very challenging at times and poses great difficulties to the clinician. Infection with nontuberculous Mycobacterium (NTM) is even rarer especially in an immunocompetent patient. We report a case of NTM in abdominopelvic TB. A 37-year-old foreign worker, para 3, presented with a one-week history of suprapubic pain associated with fever. An assessment showed presence of a right adnexal mass. She was treated as tuboovarian abscess with intravenous antibiotics. Unfortunately, she did not respond. She underwent exploratory laparotomy. Intraoperatively, features of the mass were suggestive of a right mature cystic teratoma with presence of slough and cheesy materials all over the abdominal cavity as well as presence of ascites. Diagnosis of NTM was confirmed with PCR testing using the peritoneal fluid. This case was a diagnostic dilemma due to the nonspecific clinical presentation. Management of such rare infection was revisited.