Pott’s disease in twenty first century: A three-year study from an orthopaedic teaching institute of Himalayan region and a mini review

Tuberculosis (TB) of the spine if neglected can give rise to deformities and neural compromise. Early diagnosis and management can prevent these complications. In this series, we study the clinical-radiological presentation and present trends of spinal involvement in spinal TB (STB) in our Himalayan population.

This study was conducted from March 2017 to February 2020. Patient demography, clinical signs, and radiological parameters of the disease were recorded.

80 diagnosed patients with a mean age of 37.6 ± 19.1 years were included. Para-discalvariety was the most common type (86.25%) with the lumbar region the most common region involved (46.9%). Cold abscess, deformity, and neural deficit were present in 11.25%, 36.25%, and 21.25% of patients, respectively.

The results of this study and the world literature suggest a global trend of the lumbar spine being involved more often in the twenty-first century than the thoracic spine. Besides, our Himalayan belt population had a lower incidence of clinically evident cold abscesses, discharging sinuses, spine deformities, and associated neural deficits, which is suggestive of the early presentation of our patients to the healthcarefacilities.