Tuberculose ostéo-articulaire: à propos de 19 cas

We report on a series of 19 cases of bone and joint tuberculosis (8 women and 11 men; mean age 45 years). Various locations were encountered: sacroiliac (6), spine (10), carpal (1), tarsal (1), and phalangeal (1). Bone biopsy performed in 17 patients yielded the bacteriological diagnosis in 12 (direct smear: 6, culture: 6). In the remaining 5 patients, pathological study of biopsy samples showed tipical granulomatous lesions in 4. The last patient was treated on a presumptive basis, with favorable outcome.