ArticleBMJ case reports2019
Granulomatous infective spondylitis in a patient presenting with progressive difficulty in walking: the differential between tuberculosis and brucellosis.
Article in BMJ case reports, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- The bacterial spectrum of spinal infections based on blood culture, tissue culture, and molecular methods: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness and safety of percutaneous endoscopic debridement and drainage for spinal infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Pooled it
- The regulating markers for Brucella spondylitis and tuberculous spondylitis.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Is brucellosis a great mimic of tuberculosis? A case report.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
We report a case of infectious spondylitis in a 52-year-old woman who presented with progressive difficulty in walking. The patient had a 2-month long history of neurological symptoms, which progressed rapidly to paraplegia, following her admission. Imaging studies demonstrated the presence of vertebral lesions as well as additional tissue with inflammatory elements in the spinal canal, which caused a mass effect. In combination with the presence of increased cells and protein in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the differential was steered towards causes of infectious spondylitis, primarily tuberculosis. However, brucellosis was also considered, as it is endemic in our area. Prompt surgical decompression produced biopsy samples, which confirmed the presence of granulomatous inflammation. The patient was started on an empiric regimen covering both for tuberculosis and brucellosis, and gradually regained full mobility in her lower limbs. The differential of infectious spondylitis is discussed, with an emphasis on the differentiation between tuberculosis and brucellosis.
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Registered trials
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