An unusual case of ileocaecal tuberculosis in an 80-year-old Caucasian male.

An 80-year-old Caucasian male presented with a seven-week history of diarrhoea and weight loss. Distal duodenal biopsies showed partial villous atrophy but he failed to respond to a gluten-free diet. Subsequently he developed a right iliac fossa mass associated with radiological evidence of ileocaecal ulceration. Colonoscopic biopsies from the caecum showed non-caseating granulomata and Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining and culture for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) were negative. Crohn's disease was diagnosed and he was started on steroids. Although he showed an initial response, his condition then deteriorated and he died after six weeks. ZN staining of tissue at postmortem showed AFBs. Although a rare diagnosis in the UK, a high index of suspicion should be maintained for ileocaecal TB in patients with appropriate clinical features, even if classical risk factors for TB are absent.