Tuberculous Spondylodiscitis with Psoas Abscess Descending into the Anterior Femoral Compartment Identified Using 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoroglucose Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography
Julian Scherer,
Tessa Kotze,
Zintle Mdiza,
Andrew Lawson,
Michael Held,
Friedrich Thienemann
Affiliations
Julian Scherer
Orthopaedic Research Unit, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Health Science, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
Tessa Kotze
CUBIC, PET/CT, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
Zintle Mdiza
CUBIC, PET/CT, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
Andrew Lawson
CUBIC, PET/CT, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
Michael Held
Orthopaedic Research Unit, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Health Science, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
Friedrich Thienemann
General Medicine & Global Health Research Unit, Department of Medicine and Cape Heart Institute, Faculty of Health Science, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
A 24-year-old immunocompetent woman underwent whole-body 18F-FDG PET/CT for the evaluation of MRI-suspicious tuberculous spinal lesions. The PET/CT results showed no pathological uptake in either lung, and there were no pathological changes on CT. There was increased uptake in the right psoas muscle, extending continuously down anterior to the right hip joint, posterior to and around the trochanteric region of the right femur, and into the right thigh, with an SUVmaxbw of 17.0. Subsequently, the patient underwent CT-guided biopsy as per protocol, which revealed drug-sensitive Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and the patient was started on standard tuberculosis treatment for 12 months.
