Abstract
Objective To describe the clinico-epidemiological, laboratory, and radiological characteristics
of tuberculous spondylodiscitis in the Brazilian population, and to assess whether
there are differences between patients in whom the etiological agent in Pott disease
was isolated or not.
Methods Patients diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) of the spine (Pott disease) underwent follow-up
between 2009 and 2019 at a quaternary hospital and were divided into 2 groups: successful
isolation (SI) of the etiological agent (through bacilloscopy, culture, or positive
molecular rapid test) and unsuccessful isolation (UI) of the etiological agent.
Results From a total of 26 patients diagnosed with TB of the spine, 21 (80.7%) were male,
with a mean age of 40 ± 22.5 years. The average lymphocyte counts were higher in the
UI group (25.35 ± 13.08; p = 0.025) compared to the SI group (14.18 ± 7.48). Moreover, the monocyte/lymphocyte
ratio was lower in the UI group (0.39 ± 0.22; p = 0.009) than in the SI group (0.89 ± 0.65). Relative lymphocyte counts higher than
or equal to 16.7 had a sensitivity of 76.9% and specificity of 62.5% in the UI group.
Values higher than or equal to 0.58 for the monocyte/lymphocyte ratio showed a sensitivity
of 84.6% and specificity of 75.0% in the UI group.
Conclusion No differences were observed regarding the clinico-epidemiological and radiological
characteristics of the two experimental groups. However, the UI group had higher lymphocyte
counts and a lower monocyte/lymphocyte ratio.
Keywords
tuberculosis - spine - diagnosis - Pott disease - spondylodiscitis
