Document 0110
 DOCN  M9590110
 TI    Tuberculosis of the spine in children at Muhimbili Medical Centre, Dar
       es Salaam.
 DT    9509
 AU    Sayi EN; Mlay SM; Department of Surgery, Muhimbili Medical Centre,
       Salaam,; Tanzania.
 SO    East Afr Med J. 1995 Jan;72(1):46-8. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
       MED/95300729
 AB    A retrospective study of 22 children with tuberculosis of the spine who
       were managed at Paediatric Surgical Unit (PSU) of Muhimbili Medical
       Centre (MMC), Dar es Salaam between 1988 and 1993 was done. There were
       12 boys and 10 girls of ages ranging from 3-13 years. Majority of the
       patients presented with back pain and/or deformity and weakness in the
       legs associated with difficulty in walking. The diagnosis was based on
       radiological as well as haematological findings. Two patients had
       associated lung lesions and these gave AFB positive sputum. Majority
       (63.5%) were thoracolumbar T11-L2. All patients received chemotherapy
       and in addition two had simple drainage of paravertebral abscesses and
       two debridement and bone grafting. There was no formal immobilization
       except that they had to sleep on hard beds. All gave a history of BCG
       vaccination scars. Mantoux or Heaf test was done on 16/22, patients of
       whom 11/16 (68.8%) were positive. One patient ended up with paraplegia,
       one with marked paraparesis and in 17/22 the kyphosis/gibbus increased.
       Laxity in the tuberculosis control programmes and the widespread of HIV
       could play part in what seems to be a flare up of tuberculosis infection
       in the recent past.
 DE    Adolescence  BCG Vaccine  Child  Child, Preschool  Female
       Hospitalization/TRENDS  Human  Male  Retrospective Studies  Tanzania
       Treatment Outcome  *Tuberculosis, Spinal/COMPLICATIONS/DIAGNOSIS/THERAPY
       JOURNAL ARTICLE

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