what is spinal tb?

Question

any simple descriptions would be appreciated. just that i met someone who used to have it and i want to know a little more

Answer 1

Spinal Tuberculosis -orn Pott's disease - is a form of TB that develops in association with arthritis. The joints most frequently involved are the spine, hips, knees, wrists, and ankles. Most cases involve just one joint. Tuberculous arthritis can be very destructive. In particular, if the spine is involved, a patient may have numbness, tingling, or weakness below the level of the infection. Muscle atrophy and muscle spasms can occur.

The fictional Hunchback of Notre Dame had a humpback that is thought to have been caused by tuberculosis.

Answer 2

Evidences of spinal tuberculosis have been found in Egyptian mummies and the disease is one of the oldest diseases afflicting humans. The demography, diagnosis, medical and surgical treatment, as advocated currently, have been reviewed with a brief discussion of the literature. Early diagnosis and comprehensive treatment are needed to control this public health problem.

Tuberculosis of the spine is one of the oldest diseases afflicting humans. Evidences of spinal tuberculosis have been found in Egyptian mummies dating back to 3400 BC1. The descriptions in Rigveda, Atharvaveda and Charak Samhita are the oldest known texts in the world literature relating to this disease2. The association of paraplegia and kyphotic deformity of the spine was first noticed by Sir Percival Pott3.

Tuberculosis was a leading cause of mortality in the beginning of the twentieth century4. Improvement in the socio-economic status led to a major decline in the prevalence even before the introduction of antituberculous drugs.

However, it continues to be a major public health problem in developing countries. Malnutrition, poor sanitation, and exanthematous fever are the factors contributing to the spread of the disease.

In the United States, there has been a steady increase in the prevalence of pulmonary as well as extrapulmonary tuberculosis5. This is largely due to impairment of immune system by the human immunodeficiency virus leading to reactivation of latent infection and a likelihood of progression to active disease6.

The commonest causative organism for spinal tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, an acid-fast bacillus growing only on media enriched with egg and potato base or serum. The practice of boiling of milk before consumption has limited the Myco bovis-caused disease and the Myco africanum is geographically limited to Northwest Africa7.

Topographically, spinal tuberculosis constitutes about half the cases of skeletal tuberculosis8. The dorsal spine is involved in half the cases of spinal tuberculosis. The disease is always secondary to a primary visceral focus which may be in the lungs, lymph nodes or kidneys.

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis is more common in children than in adults, the commonest site being the superficial lymph nodes9. A minimum time lag of 2 to 3 years is present between the development of primary focus and manifestation of the disease in the spine.

The bacteria may reach the spine through the arterial circulation or the Batson's plexus of veins. Initially, two contiguous vertebral bodies are involved due to a common vascular supply.

Destruction of vertebral bodies compromises the nutrition of the intervertebral disc and leads to progressive disc destruction10 and vertebral collapse

Answer 3

Tb: tuberculosis

Spinal Tb: tuberculosis in the spine. aka Pott's disease. Usually caused by a Tb infection outside of the spine (usually the lungs).

See link below for more information.

Answer 4

Two hundred patients suffering from tuberculosis (TB) of the spine with neurological complications were the subjects of this review. They were graded according to the Frankel system into--A: complete neurological deficit; B: sparing of some sensation; C: sparing of sensation but no useful motor function; D: sparing of sensation and useful motor function; and E: no deficits. Investigations carried out included detailed neurological assessment, radiography, contrast myelography and, in the later stages of the study, spinal computerized tomography (CT) scan. The authors believe that contrast myelography provides the best indication of spinal compression in TB spine. Treatment was by surgical decompression followed by chemotherapy. The surgical approach for thoracic spine disease was by the anterior transthoracic route. Cervical lesions were also approached by the anterior route, lateral to the carotid vessels. Unexpected findings during operation included lymphoma, plasmacytoma, non-tuberculous granulation tissue, salmonella osteomyelitis and tumour metastasis. Ten patients died during the postoperative period, all of whom had extensive systemic TB. When indicated, antituberculous drugs were administered postoperatively for two years and immobilization was done in a plaster cast for 3 months. Only 30 patients showed partial recovery. Improvement was found to be related to the grade of deficit; thoracic lesions with severe neurological deficits showed the least improvement while lumbar disease had the best outcome. The study recommended a combination of surgery and chemotherapy for all cases of TB spine with neurological deficits after a short delay during which respiratory function should be improved. The surgery should aim at decompression of the cord by removal of pus, granulation tissue and sequestra, with internal splintage with bone grafts to reduce the hospital stay. Conservative treatment is unwise because it is not always possible to distinguish between TB and neoplastic lesions.