Abstract

  Although uncommon, extrapulmonary tuberculosis is not a rare occurrence. Bone and joint involvement constitute at least ten percent of cases, with the most affected site being the spine. Patients with spinal tuberculosis usually present with back pain, with other pulmonary or constitutional symptoms being absent, resulting in a difficult diagnosis. This report highlights the challenges experienced in the diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis. We report the case of a 28-year old male paraplegic who presented with deteriorating symptoms after being bedridden for a year as he was a drug addict. The patient suffered from a fixed neck flexion complete deformity. Imaging studies showed a large soft tissue mass in front of C2 up to C7 with destruction of C2 and C2/3 subluxation, multiple vertebral osteolytic lesions mostly at T2/3 with massive T2 destruction and large epidural collection compressing the cord. Surgery with posterior decompression at level of T1-T2 with fixation from C1 to T5. In the same setting an anterior evacuation of the cervicalabcess ws done, huge amounts of pus was evacuated. Post-operatively, a right pneumothorax was diagnosed and the patient was placed in the Intensive Care Unit. The patient had 3/5 lower limb muscle power after two weeks. Biopsy and cultures confirmed Tuberculosis spondylodiscitis. Considering the complications associated with untreated spinal tuberculosis with paraplegia and the importance of surgery, it is pertinent to state that high suspicion plays a critical role in early diagnosis of such cases.

Keywords: Paraplegia; Tuberculosis

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Citation

Citation: Sager SHY Hanna., et al. “Successful Treatment of Paraplegia in Spinal Tuberculosis: Case Study and Literature Review". Acta Scientific Orthopaedics 3.4 (2020): 51-55.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Sager SHY Hanna., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.