Spinal Tuberculosis as a Cause of Low Back Pain—A Timely Reminder

Choo, Chee Yong; Pan, Woei Jack; Lee, Haw C.

doi:10.1111/j.1526-4637.2012.01345.x

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 7 publications

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“…In addition to this, patients with tuberculosis of the spine commonly have intractable pain upon presentation due to underlying vertebral compression and impingement of nerve roots 22,23 . Our data shows that the NRS of our patients at admission scored as high as 6.64 ± 1.89 which echoes the results of previous reports 22,23 . Furthermore, instability of the spine and kyphosis is not uncommon in patients with spinal TB 7,24 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Treatment of tuberculosis-associated vertebral compression with percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) relieves pain and prevents kyphosis

Fan

Zhou

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background Patients with suspected tuberculosis of the spine often present with back pain and/or neurological symptoms due to underlying compression fractures. Needle biopsy is frequently needed for confirmatory diagnosis. An additional surgical procedure may be required to stabilize the spine and prevent complications.Methods T0 retrospectively reviewed medical records of 44 patients with suspected spinal tuberculosis from 2013–2017 who underwent bone biopsy for diagnosis and simultaneous PVP for stabilization of the spine. A follow-up telephone interview was conducted to evaluate the effect of treatment including the degree of post-surgical pain, presence of neurological symptoms, and kyphosis.Results At the time of follow-up, 18 patients achieved complete remission, 6 patients underwent a second surgery and 1 patient had no change in the clinical course. Secondary systemic infection after PVP is not reported and the results suggest PVP is not an absolute contraindication in the patients with suspected spinal tuberculosis. PVP has demonstrated a significant improvement in pain one-day post-op and at the time of follow-up (from NRS 6.64 to NRS 1.33 and 0.64, respectively). Neurological symptoms (from 16–4%) and kyphosis (from 32–8%) also improved with PVP treatment.Conclusion PVP is a feasible and effective technique for treating compression fractures due to spinal tuberculosis. It augments the fractured vertebrae, improves pain relief and prevents kyphosis. It does not help spread the infection and should not be regarded as a contraindication for infectious disease, particularly in the context of tuberculosis.

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