POTT'S Disease: a review of 58 cases

Pott''s disease is a rare form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, and presents with several clinical patterns. Delay in diagnosis and management may cause serious complications. We conducted a retrospective study between 1991- 2006 to evaluate clinical presentation, radiologic and laboratory findings, and therapeutic approaches to spinal tuberculosis.

We reviewed clinical presentation, radiological and laboratory findings of 58 patients with spinal tuberculosis retrospectively. The diagnosis of tuberculous spondylitis was based on characteristic histology or microbiologic evidence of the disease. The results of study were recorded, and statistically analyzed by SPSS 11.5.

The most frequent symptom was back pain (84%), with thoracic region being the most affected site (46%). Paravertebral abscess noted in 67% of cases and the average time for diagnosis was 16 months.

The 42 cases of this study underwent surgery and all were treated with drug therapy for 12 months. There was no worsening of the neurologic status in any patient. All patients with tuberculous spondylitis began to improve 3 months after chemotherapy and healed within 12 months in nonsurgical and surgical groups.