POTT’S DISEASE AND GIANT TUBERCULOUS ABSCESS. A CASE DISCUSSION

Huerta JF, Pacheco E, Escobar V, Contreras A

Centro Medico Nacional “20 de Noviembre” I.S.S.S.T.E. Mexico D.F. Mexico

Tuberculosis is a disease known since ancient times and it has been arising again as a health problem in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that about one third of the population in the world is infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and this is the most frequent handicap and death’s etiology, with a death rate of almost 3 millions in a year. In USA the fifth part of the new tuberculosis cases has been associated with extra lung disease, and patients with AIDS represent the third part of the cases.

We describe to a toddle male aged 3 years old, from Tampico, Tamaulipas, México, with positive Combe. He began the symptoms when he was one year and 8 months old with problems for walking, deformity in the tórax column (xyfosis), and also a painful and increasing volume in the left low rib region. When he was admitted in the hospital, we did USG, CT and MRI with evidence of lesion in thorax column from T8 to L1, and also a big tumoral mass that was suggesting an abscess with spine damage. A PPD, bacilloscopy in gastric liquid and abscess secretion y Polimerase Chain Reaction (PCR) in gastric liquid were done and positives by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A low compress laminectomy was done, taking a biopsy and draining left lumbar abscess; then we started therapy with antituberculosis drugs.

Conclusions: This case is importan because shows the evidence that tuberculosis is still a public world health problem, and its complications in vertebral column are still being in pediatric ages, causing important neurological and osteoarthropathy outcomes, even death. This is the reason why is important the early recognition in order to give an efficient and timely and multidiscipline therapy.

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