Thoracic Vertebral Fracture due to Spinal Tuberculosis which was Misdiagnosed as Matastatic Cancer: A Case Report

ABSTRACT

STUDY DESIGN: A case report. OBJECTIVES: To report the case of a patient whose preoperative imaging results seemed to show metastatic spine tumor but who actually had a vertebral pathologic fracture caused by spine tuberculosis. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: Tuberculosis spondylitis is classified into peridiscal, central, anterior, and posterior spondylitis according to the portion involved, and central spondylitis can be mistaken as a tumor. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Imaging studies were performed in a 79-year-old female with progressive lower extremity weakness. We found a T12 pathologic vertebral fracture, which was suspected to be metastatic cancer. RESULTS: We performed surgery and found spine tuberculosis in the pathological and immunological examinations. Two weeks postoperatively, the patient could walk with crutches and underwent anti-tuberculosis therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Even when the results of imaging studies predict spinal metastasis, we should keep in mind the possibility of spinal tuberculosis.