Tuberculosis of the Elbow Region in Pediatric Age Group - Experiences from a Single Centre.

Background: Clinical series of tuberculosis of elbow region in children are few. The purpose of our study was to retrospectively review the presentation, healing response and functional results of 30 children. Methods: The pretreatment disease presentation was studied from patient’s case records. Serial radiographs of the patients were studied to see remineralization and healing of radiological lesions. For elbow’s functional evaluation, pain, range of motion and recurrence were observed at final follow up. Results: The mean patient age was 8.2 years. The mean duration of symptoms before presentation was 47 days. A discharging sinus was present in 6 patients. Multifocal presentation was found in 7 patients. The lesion was most commonly localized in proximal ulna or lower humerus. The classical ‘ice cream scoop’ appearance of proximal ulnar metaphysis was noted in 5 elbows. Most elbows were in Martini stage 2 (70%) at the time of presentation. All patients were treated non-operatively. Average follow up af...