A Rare Radiological Manifestation of Disseminated Tuberculous Spondylitisin Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Patient: A Case Report

Abstract

The spine is the most common site of skeletal involvement in tuberculosis. The radiologic features are reportedly characterized by destruction of the vertebral body, subligamentous extension or subchondral penetration, frequent paravertebral abscess formation and late involvement of the disk space. We experienced a case of a 25-year-old male who was a human immunodeficiency virus carrier without antiretroviral therapy. Incidental findings on abdominal computed tomography included multiple well-demarcated and ovoid osteolytic lesions with hyperdense rims disseminated in the thoracic, lumbar, and sacrum vertebrae, as well as in both ilii. On the lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging, multiple small round lesions of isointense signal intensity with peripheral hyperintense rims were found on both T1- and T2-weighted imaging. The lesions had peripheral rim enhancement on gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted imaging. Based on our experience, this rare image finding is one of the manifestations of disseminated tuberculosis.

Keywords

• spine
• tuberculosis
• mri
• acquired immune deficiency syndrome