RxPG - Pott's disease

Pott's disease is a presentation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis that affects the spine. Precisely it is called tuberculous spondylitis and the original name was formed after Percivall Pott, a London surgeon. It is most commonly localized in the thoracic portion of the spine.

Common signs and symptoms are:

back pain
fever
night sweats
anorexia
weight loss
Diagnosis is based on:

blood tests - elevated ESR
skin tests
radiographs of the spine
bone scan
CT of the spine
bone biopsy
Late complications of the disease are:

severe kyphosis
sinus formation,
paraplegia (so called Pott's paraplegia)
Treatment:

non-operative - antituberculous drugs
immobilization of the spine region
operative