Pediatric Osteoarticular Tuberculosis as a Diagnostic Dilemma and a Review of Literature.

Introduction Despite tuberculosis being rampant in the Indian subcontinent, most cases of osteoarticular (OA) tuberculosis (TB) are missed until significant bony destruction has occurred. Initial presentation of extra-pulmonary TB mimics many other disease entities while many diseases mimic TB. This may lead to an incorrect diagnosis and sometimes creates a dilemma in reaching the correct diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate a series of pediatric cases of osteoarticular TB, which posed a diagnostic challenge to us. Material and methods Retrospective analysis of case records of pediatric OA-TB patients who had presented to two tertiary level centers of urban India between February 2016 and December 2020 was done. There were a total of 69 patients.  Observations There were 37 males and 32 females. The age range was from two to 17 years. Forty-four patients showed evidence of disease within the spine (dorsal region followed by lumbar, followed by the cervical spine), 16 showed disease of the extremities, six had disease of the girdle bones, and three showed disease of the short bones of hands or foot. In our series, patients presented to us between 15 days to six months from the onset of symptoms. From our series, six cases with atypical clinical pictures have been selected for presentation purposes. In all six cases, the initial presentation was not that of OA-TB. However, with a high degree of suspicion, differential diagnosis of TB was kept in mind, and the diagnosis was confirmed microbiologically. Conclusion A high degree of suspicion is required to avoid missing the diagnosis of osteoarticular TB. Non-invasive advanced radiological investigations such as MRI and microbiological analysis of biopsy specimens aid in arriving at the correct diagnosis.

Extraskeletal Chondroma of the Gluteal Region Along with Sporadic Neurofibroma - An Unusual Presentation.

Extraskeletal or soft tissue chondroma is a benign cartilaginous tumour that predominantly involves the hands and feet. We present a rare case of gluteal extraskeletal chondroma in a 55-year-old Indian female. She presented with right gluteal mass measuring 5 cm in greatest dimension. The diagnosis was provided through histopathological examination of completely excised tumour mass. The patient also had sporadic neurofibroma in the supraclavicular region. Such a unique association has not been reported till date in the English literature. We describe the clinical and histopathological characteristics of our case, emphasizing the first reported association of extraskeletal chondroma and sporadic neurofibroma.

Plexiform Schwannoma of Lumbar Region.

Plexiform schwannoma is an unusual peripheral nerve sheath tumor. It can mimic plexiform neurofibroma. A five-year-old girl presented with painful swelling in left lumbar region. Radiologic investigations showed a multinodular tumor in the subcutaneous plane of lumbosacral region. A complete excision and histopathologic examination revealed a plexiform tumor composed of hypocellular and hypercellular areas with verocay bodies. The tumor cells showed strong positivity for S-100 protein, rendering a final diagnosis of plexiform schwannoma. The child has been free of recurrence in 12-month follow-up.

An unusual large abdominal malakoplakia following trauma: Diagnosed on FNAC.

Malakoplakia is a rare chronic granulomatous inflammatory disease, related to immune deficiency and impaired bactericidal macrophage activity. Common sites of involvement include urinary bladder and kidney followed by gastrointestinal tract. We present an unusual case of abdominal malakoplakia diagnosed preoperatively on ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). It presented as a large locally aggressive mass with extensive involvement of multiple bowel loops in an 18-year-old boy following blunt trauma to the abdomen. The demonstration of calcified laminated intracytoplasmic Michaelis-Gutman bodies in histiocytes is a reliable diagnostic feature of malakoplakia on FNAC smears, which can guide an appropriate medical management.

Xp11 translocation renal cell carcinoma morphologically mimicking clear cell-papillary renal cell carcinoma in an adult patient: report of a case expanding the morphologic spectrum of Xp11 translocation renal cell carcinomas.

Xp11 translocation renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a relatively rare tumor mainly affecting children and adolescents. It shows significant morphological overlap with the 2 most common adult renal tumors, which are the clear cell (conventional) RCC and papillary RCC. We describe case of a young adult female who presented with right flank pain and abdominal mass. Radiological investigations showed features suggestive of renal cell carcinoma in the right kidney. Histopathological findings while suggestive of Xp11 carcinoma, showed significant overlap with the recently described entity clear cell papillary RCC. TFE3 immunohistochemistry confirmed the tumor to be Xp11 translocation RCC. The patient had an aggressive course with lymph node metastasis. In this report, we discuss differential diagnosis and the diagnostic challenges of Xp11 translocation RCC in adults.

Fibrolipomatous hamartoma of sural nerve: a new site of an unusual lesion.

Neural fibrolipomatous hamartoma is a rare benign tumour commonly involving the median nerve. Other less frequently involved nerves include the ulnar, radial, brachial plexus, superficial peroneal nerve, inferior calcaneal nerve and median plantar nerve. Involvement of sural nerve has not been reported in the available literature so far. A three-year-old female child presented with a painless swelling over the posterolateral aspect of left leg with no associated motor or sensory deficits. Radiological investigations revealed a fat density lesion with interspersed neural element in the subcutaneous plane of the left leg. Histopathological examination of the excised specimen showed features of a fibrolipomatous hamartoma of the nerve. This report describes the occurrence of fibrolipomatous hamartoma in the sural nerve for the first time in the literature. This rare tumour should be considered in the differential diagnosis of such lesions.

Spontaneous atraumatic fracture of a cervical vertebra in tuberculosis: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Spontaneous pathological fractures of the cervical spine due to tuberculosis are rare. But with escalating incidences of atypical presentations of tubercular disease, clinicians should exercise a high index of suspicion for early diagnosis of such cases. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a 50-year-old Hindu man from northern India, who complained of pain and stiffness in his neck. His radiographs showed a fracture in his second cervical vertebral body. But further investigations raised the suspicion of an infective pathology, which was corroborated by magnetic resonance imaging and fine needle aspiration cytology. His symptoms improved and the fracture healed following antitubercular chemotherapy and immobilization. CONCLUSION: In endemic regions like India, clinicians should be on the lookout for atypical presentations of tuberculosis. Any suspicious lesion should be evaluated with care for clinical, radiological and laboratory evidences of the infection. The affected spine should be protected and appropriate chemotherapy should be instituted at the earliest opportunity.