Clin Orthop Surg.  2009 Mar;1(1):58-62. 10.4055/cios.2009.1.1.58.

A Case of Postoperative Tuberculous Spondylitis with a Bizarre Course

• Jeon DW
• Chang BS
• Jeung UO
• Lee SJ
• Lee CK
• Kim MS
• Nam WD

• KMID: 1127916
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4055/cios.2009.1.1.58

Abstract

Postoperative infections following spine surgery are usually attributable to bacterial organisms. Staphylococcus aureus is known to be the most common single pathogen leading to this infection, and the number of infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is increasing. However, there is a paucity of literature addressing postoperative infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We encountered a case of tuberculous spondylitis after spine surgery. A man had fever with low back pain three weeks after posterior interbody fusion with instrumentation for a herniated intervertebral disc at the L4-L5 level. He had been treated with antibiotics for an extended period of time under the impression that he had a bacterial infection, but his symptoms and laboratory data had not improved. Polymerase chain reaction for Mycobacterium tuberculosis turned out to be positive. The patient's symptoms finally improved when he was treated with antituberculosis medication.

Keyword

Spine; Postoperative infection; Tuberculous spondylitis

MeSH Terms

Adult
Humans
Low Back Pain/etiology
Lumbar Vertebrae/surgery
Male
Postoperative Complications/*microbiology
Spondylitis/etiology/*microbiology
Thoracic Vertebrae/*microbiology/pathology
Tuberculosis/drug therapy/*microbiology
Tuberculosis, Spinal/complications/drug therapy/*microbiology