Pott’s disease and immunological diagnosis of tuberculosis, in relationship to a pediatric clinical case Mal de Pott y diagnóstico inmunológico de tuberculosis, a propósito de un caso pediátrico

Abstract

© 2015, Sociedad Chilena de Infectologia. All rights reserved.Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major health problem in the world. The clinical forms of TB in children are variable, pulmonary involvement occurs in two thirds of cases. In the remaining third, clinical forms incluye node, meningeal and osteoarticular involvement. Case report: 7 year old boy with a history of an osteolytic lesion of the right ischial branch. Three months later he presented with spondylodiscitis at L2-L3, associated with a large abscess in the right iliac psoas muscle. Pott’s disease was suspected, and tuberculin test and T-SPOT®.TB test were performed, with a positive result. Antimicrobial treatment was initiated with isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol. After 30 days, Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated from psoas abscess. We discuss methods of TB diagnosis, with special emphasis on immunological methods: tuberculin test and interferon-gamma release assays. Methods of immunological TB diagno