Abstract
Tuberculous spondylitis is more common in patients with chronic renal failure who receive hemodialysis because of their abnormal T-cell-mediated immunity. It frequently poses both diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. We describe two cases of tuberculous spondylitis in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis therapy. They are IFN-γ assay diagnosed (QuantiFERON-TB Gold) and conservatively treated. Our cases suggest that IFN-γ assays equip clinicians with more accurate tools for tuberculosis control. A combination of T-SPOT.TB testing and MRI assessment may be the accurate method to diagnose tuberculous spondylitis in patients with end-stage renal disease.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Thoracic Society; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Infectious Diseases Society of America American Thoracic Society/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Infectious Diseases Society of America: controlling tuberculosis in the United States. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2005, 172, 1169–1227
Chou KJ, Fang HC, Bai KJ, Hwang SJ, Yang WC, Chung HM: Tuberculosis in maintenance dialysis patients. Nephron 2001, 88, 138–143
Passalent L, Khan K, Richardson R, Wang J, Dedier H, Gardam M: Detecting Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Hemodialysis Patients: A Head-to-Head Comparison of the T-SPOT.TB Test, Tuberculin Skin Test, and an Expert Physician Panel Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2007, 2, 68–73
Poduval RD, Hammes MD: Tuberculosis screening in dialysis patients: Is the tuberculin test effective? Clin Nephrol 2003, 59, 436–440
Khalfallah M, Faure A, Hamel O, Cantarovich D, Doe K, Raoul S, Bord E, Robert R: Dialysis-associated spondyloarthropathy. Case report and literature review. Neurochirurgie 2005, 51, 165–172
Shankar MS, Aravindan AN, Sohal PM, Kohli HS, Sud K, Gupta KL, Sakhuja V, Jha V: The prevalence of tuberculin sensitivity and anergy in chronic renal failure in an endemic area: Tuberculin test and the risk of post-transplant tuberculosis. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2005, 20, 2720–2724
Fang HC, Chou KJ, Chen CL, Lee PT, Chiou YH, Hung SY, Chung HM: Tuberculin skin test and anergy in dialysis patients of a tuberculosis-endemic area. Nephron 2002, 91, 682–687
Wauters A, Peetermans WE, Van den Brande P, De Moor B, Evenepoel P, Keuleers H, Kuypers D, Stas K, Vanwalleghem J, Vanrenterghem Y, Maes BD: The value of tuberculin skin testing in haemodialysis patients J. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2004, 19, 433–438
Aggarwal I: Tuberculosis — diagnosis and investigation. Hospital Pharmacist 2006, 13, 73–78
Niu CC, Chen WJ, Chen LH, Shih CH: Destructive spondyloarthropathy mimicking spondylitis in long-term hemodialysis patients. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 2000, 120, 594–597
Arend SM, Thijsen SF, Leyten EM, Bouwman JJ, Franken WP, Koster BF, Cobelens FG, van Houte AJ, Bossink AW: Comparison of two interferon-gamma assays and tuberculin skin test for tracing tuberculosis contacts. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2007, 175, 618–627
Pai M, Lewinsohn DM: Interferon gamma assays for tuberculosis. Is anergy the Achilles’ heel? Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2005, 172, 519–521
Brock I, Munk ME, Kok-Jensen A, Andersen P: Performance of whole blood IFN-gamma test for tuberculosis diagnosis based on PPD or the specific antigens ESAT-6 and CFP-10. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2001, 5, 462–467
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Kostov, K., Yovchevski, P. & Petrov, I. Tuberculous spondylitis in patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing chronic hemodialysis therapy — Report of two cases. cent.eur.j.med 5, 475–477 (2010). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11536-009-0093-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11536-009-0093-7