Tuberculosis of contralateral costo-transverse joints

Isolated costotransverse joint tuberculosis - A rare location for tubercular arthritis

Background:

Posterior element involvement of the spine with tuberculosis (TB) is very uncommon.

Case Description:

A 25-year-old immunocompetent female presented with dull mid-back ache and tenderness over the inferior angle of the left scapula and left 7th costovertebral junction. The MRI showed erosion and enhancing soft tissue in the periarticular region of the left 7th costotransverse joint. After the CT-guided biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of TB, she was successfully managed with antitubercular chemotherapy.

Conclusion:

In a 25-year-old female, the early diagnosis of atypical TB involving the left T7 costotransverse joint allowed for allowed for its successful treatment/resolution with antitubercular chemotherapy.

Tuberculosis of bilateral first costotransverse joints

Involvement of posterior spine constitutes to 1-6% of the cases of spinal tuberculosis (TB). To the best of our knowledge, TB of costotransverse joints has only been reported once in the literature. The purpose of this study is to describe a case of TB arthritis of costotransverse joints. A 22-year-old immunocompetent patient presented with a 3-month history of pain in the neck and upper back along with a swelling on the left side of the base of the neck. On performing an MRI of the cervicodorsal spine, there was evidence of destructive collections at the bilateral first and right-sided second costotransverse joints. The patient was diagnosed as a case of tubercular pathology and was managed successfully with antitubercular chemotherapy.