Background:The diagnosis of osteoarticular tuberculosis is clinico-radiological in endemic areas. However every patient does not have the classical picture. Osteoarticular tuberculosis is a paucibacillary disease hence bacteriological diagnosis is possible in 10-30% of the cases. The present study is undertaken to correlate clinico-radiological, bacteriological, serological, molecular and histological diagnosis.Materials and Methods:Fifty clinico-radiologically diagnosed patients of osteoarticular tuberculosis with involvement of dorsal spine (n = 35), knee (n = 8), shoulder (n = 1), elbow (n = 2) and lumbar spine lesion (n = 4), were analyzed. Tissue was obtained after decompression in 35 cases of dorsal spine and fine needle aspiration in the remaining 15 cases. Tissue obtained was subjected to AFB staining, AFB culture sensitivity, aerobic/anaerobic culture sensitivity histopathological examination and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using 16srRNA as primer. Serology was performed by ELISA in 27 cases of dorsal spine at admission and one and three months postoperatively.Results:AFB staining (direct) and AFB culture sensitivity was positive in six (12%) cases. Aerobic/anaerobic culture sensitivity was negative in all cases. Histology was positive for TB in all the cases. The PCR was positive in 49 (98%) cases. All dorsal spine tuberculosis cases showed fall of IgM titer and rise of IgG titer at three months as compared to values at admission.Conclusion:Histopathology and PCR was diagnostic in all cases of osteoarticular tuberculosis. The serology alone is not diagnostic.
Late-onset paraplegia is best avoided by correcting severe kyphosis in the active, healing, or healed stages of spinal tuberculosis. We report 16 patients with dorsal or dorsolumbar spinal TB--nine with paraplegia, seven without paraplegia--who underwent kyphus correction. Nine patients had active, five partially treated, and two healed disease. The patients ranged in age from 3 to 38 years and had a mean kyphosis of 58.5 degrees (range, 35 degrees-76 degrees). Mean vertebral body involvement on computed tomography was 4.2 (2-9), and mean initial vertebral body loss was 1.76 (1-2.6). The sequential steps for kyphus correction were anterior corpectomy, shortening of the posterior column, posterior instrumentation and anterior gap grafting, and posterior fusion as a single-stage procedure by the extrapleural anterolateral (costotransversectomy) approach. Minimum followup was 3 months (range, 3-36 months). All but one patient with neural deficit showed complete neural recovery. Mean kyphosis correction was 27.3 degrees (range, 9 degrees-42 degrees). Mean correction loss on 1-year followup was 1.4 degrees (range, 0 degrees-4 degrees).
IntroductionNeurological complications in paucibacillary spine tuberculosis can be minimized or prevented if an etiology is available in the early stage of the disease for effective clinical management. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a rapid diagnostic tool overriding the limitations of direct microscopy, culture and serology for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Agent specific positive PCR in samples from normally sterile body sites is an index of microbial activity.
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