Spinal Tuberculosis- A Complete Review

Abstract

Tuberculosis of the spine, also known as tuberculosis spondylitis or Pott's disease is a type of extra pulmonary TB that accounts for skeletal TB that affects the different regions of the vertebral column, mainly the thoracic region. Children and young adults are more likely to develop spinal tuberculosis and it accounts for 10% of extra pulmonary tuberculosis and 50% of the total skeletal tuberculosis cases around the world. Spinal tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacterium mainly spreads through air droplets released into the air during coughing and sneezing. The hematogenous spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from the primarily affected region such as the lung or the genitourinary system to the cancellous bones of the vertebral column through the lymph nodes leads to spinal tuberculosis. The most common signs and symptoms include back pain, fever, night sweats, anorexia(loss of appetite) which leads to unhealthy weight loss, local pain and tenderness, muscle spasms, a cold abscess(abscess that lack intense inflammation). The diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis is made accordingly with the presence of specific clinical and neuroimaging findings. Early diagnosis and management help to improve the prognosis of the disease and prevent permanent neurological defects and helps to reduce spinal deformities. This review covers the detailed aspects of spinal tuberculosis. Using the PubMed and Google Scholar databases, an extensive review of the literature was conducted.