Abstract
Objective To evaluate the outcomes of three cases of patients with history of autoimmune disorders presenting with bone, joint, and synovial involvement due to tuberculosis (TB) in the upper limb.
Materials and Methods A retrospective and descriptive case series.
Results Patients with clinical signs of infection of insidious course, who did not respond to the broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment or debridement, were diagnosed with osteoarticular TB through tools such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, and the diagnosis was confirmed through mycobacterial culture. The clinical signs of infection resolved with the tetraconjugate antibiotic therapy for tuberculosis; however, patients with bone involvement presented movement limitation sequelae due to joint destruction.
Conclusion Osteomuscular TB in the upper limb is uncommon, and it must be suspected in the presence of local signs of infection in patients with negative cultures for common bacteria that do not respond to antibiotic treatments and repeated local debridements.
Keywords
tuberculosis - osteoarticular - wrist - elbow - tenosynovitis
