A spinal tumor or tuberculosis - a case report and short literature review

Abstract

Introduction. Among infectious diseases, tuberculosis ranks first in terms of morbidity and mortality. It mainly affects the lungs, but it can affect any organ in the body. Case Report. A 29-year old female patient, bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccinated, human immunodeficiency virus-negative, non-smoker, active athlete, presented with magnetic resonance imaging of the spine indicating vertebral body collapse of Th10 with signs of intraosseous infiltration, extraosseous prevertebral, and extracorporeal spread into the spinal canal. Corpectomy of Th10 and Th11 with an anterior fusion of Th9-12 was performed by neurosurgical intervention. Histopathological examination of the vertebral body confirmed a necrotic granulomatous inflammation. No acid-fast bacilli were seen by Ziehl-Neelsen staining, while Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture was positive. Chest X-ray and computed tomography were normal, induced sputum smear microscopy was negative for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The antituberculosis therapy lasted for 12 months. Conclusion. Spinal tuberculosis is a differential diagnostic problem in relation to pyogenic infections and metastatic bone tumors.