Arushi Bidhuri
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In a rare case, a 34-year-old from Pune has started walking again after having been affected by spinal tuberculosis that eventually led to total loss of muscle power and sensations in her lower body. Kavita Patil (name changed) experienced pain in her back first around three months ago. But it was not very severe initially. But eventually, it became very severe, and she almost was unable to walk.
Kavita said, "I am a pharmacist. I have a sedentary work profile. But I used to feel excruciating pain even while I used to just sit on a chair and work. When I consulted an orthopaedic doctor in Mumbai, he said it was just normal muscle pain. But my condition did not improve with the pain killer medicines. Then I consulted a doctor at Sancheti hospital in Pune. There I was diagnosed with spinal TB. Doctors diagnosed that there was a small fracture in the spinal vertebra. Doctors operated on me corrected my spinal deformity- kyphosis, and now I do not have any back pain."
Dr Shailesh Hadgaonkar, Head Spine unit & Spine surgeon from Sancheti Institute of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, Pune, said, "Back pain caused due to spinal TB can be differentiated from any other back pain because the TB induced back pain is excruciating. When she came to us, she was unable to walk. She had lost power in her lower limb. We saw some symptoms which indicated that it is spinal TB. With a surgical procedure called decompression, we released the pressure on vertebrae caused because of broken muscles. Then we performed a procedure called debridement in which we removed damaged tissues caused because of infection. We then gave this pus for testing, which came positive for TB bacteria. And then we did the surgical procedure called stabilisation that corrected spinal instability and deformity."
Dr Hadgaonkar, further said, "We get to see early, mid and late-stage cases. But not all cases require surgery. Surgery is only for those who worsen and can not walk. In around 5- 9 per cent of the newly diagnosed spinal TB cases, paraplegia/paraparesis is seen. Even if a patient has developed paraparesis there is always a good chance of recovery if treated early. If diagnosed early, the patient can be treated without any surgery required."
Tuberculosis is a highly contagious disease caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB typically affects the lungs, but it can also spread to other regions of the body in some situations. When tuberculosis spreads outside the lungs, it's called extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB). Bone and joint tuberculosis is one kind of EPTB. Tuberculosis of the bones is a type of tuberculosis that affects the spine, long bones, and joints.
When tuberculosis spreads outside of the lungs, it is known as bone TB. Tuberculosis is typically transmitted from one person to another through the air. Tuberculosis can spread from the lungs or lymph nodes to the bones, spine, or joints through the bloodstream. The rich vascular supply in the middle of the long bones and the vertebrae is where bone TB usually starts. The spine is the most usually impacted part of these patients. As a result, if you have bone TB, it's more likely that it'll be found in or on your spinal column. Bone TB, on the other hand, can attack any bone in your body. Pott's disease is a prevalent form of spinal bone tuberculosis.
Spine infection takes a long time to recover because they are known to cause instability if diagnosed late. This is a disease of lower immunity and is prevalent in developing countries.