Synovial tuberculosis in wrist diagnosed based on metagenomic next-generation sequencing: A case report

Abstract

Synovial tuberculosis in the wrist is a rare disease that is usually misdiagnosed at the early stage. In this case, we presented a 67-year-old male with wrist joint tuberculosis who presented repeated left wrist joint edema for more than 2 years. The patient received surgery twice. During the second surgery, the combination of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) and pathological analysis contributed to the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in lesion tissues. Conventional anti-tubercular therapy confirmed the diagnosis of synovial tuberculosis in the wrist joint. In conclusion, mNGS contributed to the rapid and accurate detection of tubercle bacillus.