A rare location of sacral tuberculosis: A report of three cases

Subcutaneous and paraspinal tuberculous abscesses in a patient with Crohn's disease

This case involves a man with longstanding Crohn's disease on azathioprine therapy who developed a rare manifestation of tuberculosis, presenting as a subcutaneous tuberculous abscess and tuberculous spondylitis. The patient's immunocompromised state due to azathioprine raised the risk for opportunistic infections. The unique aspects include the absence of disseminated tuberculosis and the development of tuberculous paraspinal and subcutaneous abscesses in a patient with Crohn's disease. The case underscores the importance of vigilance for rare infections in immunosuppressed individuals and highlights the need for tuberculosis screening before initiating immunosuppressive therapies. The patient was successfully treated with antituberculous medication, emphasising the importance of a tailored approach in managing such cases.

Multifocal tuberculous osteomyelitis mimicking widespread bony metastases: review of literature and case report

INTRODUCTION

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Extrapulmonary infections are less common, and skeletal tuberculosis accounts for about 5-20% of all cases. Skeletal tuberculosis cases often pose diagnostic challenges due to its insidious onset, non-specific clinical presentation and radiographic findings similar to other diseases. Multifocal skeletal tuberculosis is an extremely rare clinical entity, and is defined as an infection that affects two or more non-contiguous bony structures. This clinical entity can mimic bony metastasis and may lead to delays in diagnosis and treatment.

CASE PRESENTATION

We present a case of multifocal skeletal tuberculous infection mimicking widespread bony metastasis, occurring in an immunocompetent 28-year-old male, and discuss the diagnostic challenges faced and management strategies. The patient successfully underwent instrumentation and stabilization of a pathological T11 vertebra fracture and treatment of tuberculosis infection.

DISCUSSION

While TB infections remain less common in developed countries, they can still cause significant morbidity. Multifocal skeletal tuberculous infections can resemble spinal or bony metastasis on various imaging modalities. Care must be taken when interpreting such imaging results, with histopathology and mycobacterial cultures remaining the gold standard to determine the presence of active TB infections.

Common low back pain hiding tuberculous sacroiliitis

The sacroiliac joint is rarely affected by tuberculosis. Only few cases have been reported. Consequently, the diagnosis is often delayed. This case report highlights the importance of continued awareness for early detection and treatment of a tuberculous sacroiliac joint infection.

Breast Tuberculosis in Women: A Systematic Review

Breast tuberculosis (TB) is rarely reported and poorly described. This review aims to update the existing literature on risk factors, clinical presentations, constitutional symptoms, diagnostic procedures, and medical and surgical treatments for breast TB. In all, 1,478 cases of breast TB were collected. Previous history of TB was reported in 19% of cases. The most common clinical appearance of the lesion was breast lump (75%). The most common associated finding was axillary lymphadenitis (33%) followed by sinus or fistula (24%). The most common symptoms were pain and fever, reported in 42% and 28% of cases, respectively. The most used diagnostic method was fine-needle aspiration cytology (32%), followed by biopsy (27%), acid-fast bacteria Ziehl-Neelsen stain (26%), culture (13%), and polymerase chain reaction (2%). These tested positive in 64%, 93%, 27%, 26%, and 58% of cases, respectively. The majority (69%) of patients received a 6-month anti-TB treatment (isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol). Surgery consisted of excision in 39% of cases, drainage in 23%, and mastectomy in 5%. The great majority of patients had a positive outcome. It often mimics breast cancer, which makes it difficult to diagnose. Most patients, when diagnosed in time, respond to antitubercular therapy alone.

Submuscular gluteal abcess: An unusual presentation of rare sacral tuberculosis

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Gluteal abscess and sacral tuberculosis are rare entities in spine tuberculosis, as to our knowledge; this is the second case report about it.

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MRI has a great role to describe anatomical pathophysiology of the abscess dissemination from sacral tuberculosis.

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Sacral tuberculosis should be made as the main differential diagnosis for atypical sacral lesion that occurs with submuscular gluteal abscess.

Introduction

Both gluteal abscess and sacral tuberculosis are rare entities in spinal tuberculosis cases. Even in endemic country, this atypical presentation may be the cause of delayed diagnosis and treatment.

Presentation of case

A 51-year-old woman was admitted with painless massive lump on both of her thighs that have been enlarging for the past 6 months. She had a history of previous tuberculosis treatment. From the MRI examination submuscular gluteal abscess, which was an extension of the sacral tuberculosis, were found. Open debridement and biopsy were performed, which confirmed the suspicion of tuberculosis. Oral anti tuberculosis drugs were administered after. There was no recurrence and complication at the final follow up.

Discussion

Cold abscess formation is common in spine tuberculosis however the formation of gluteal abscess as the extension of sacral tuberculosis is rare. Although MRI's specificity in determining the underlying cause is poor, it has a great role not only determining the location and size of the lesion, but also to describe anatomical pathophysiology of the abscess dissemination from sacral tuberculosis.

Conclusion

Despite the limitation of the study and the rarity of this case, tuberculosis should be made as the main differential diagnosis for atypical sacral lesion that occurs with submuscular gluteal abscess.

A Rare Case of Tuberculosis with Sacrococcygeal Involvement Miming a Neoplasm

Infection of the lumbosacral junction by tuberculosis is quite rare and occurs in only 1 to 2% of all cases of spinal tuberculosis; moreover, isolated sacrococcygeal or coccygeal tuberculosis is much rarer. Failure to identify and treat these areas of involvement at an early stage may lead to serious complications such as vertebral collapse, spinal compression, and spinal deformity. In the present paper, we report an uncommon case of spinal tuberculosis with sacrococcygeal location revealed by a chronic low back pain that was successfully managed. Computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging of the pelvis revealed a lytic lesion affecting both of sacrum and coccyx causing osseous destruction and suggesting a malignant process. A surgical biopsy was performed to establish the tissue diagnosis. Histopathological report confirmed the diagnosis of skeletal tuberculosis. The patient was treated with antibacillary chemotherapy for a period of 9 months. The follow-up period was of 36 months. There was a full recovery and the patient was asymptomatic.