Medical management of Pott disease in the thoracic and lumbar spine: a prospective clinical study.

Object The aim of this study was to evaluate conservative medical management of 44 patients with Pott disease. The prognostic significance of various clinical, radiological, and long-term follow-up findings in these patients was also evaluated. Methods Between January 1990 and January 2005 data were collected prospectively at the authors' clinic in 44 patients with Pott disease in the thoracic or lumbar spine. These patients had no major neurological deficits or severe spinal deformities. The study population consisted of 21 male (48%) and 23 female (52%) patients, with a mean age of 42.1 years (range 10–70 years). The most common region of Pott disease was the thoracolumbar junction (18 cases; 41%), followed by the thoracic (16 cases; 36%) and lumbar (10 cases; 23%) regions. All patients presented with abscesses. With the exception of two cases, all had kyphotic angles smaller than 30°. At presentation, 20 patients had neurological signs of spinal cord compression during clinical examination. Both clinic...