Pott's disease

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pott's disease
Classification & external resources

ICD-10	A18.0, M49.0
ICD-9	015.0
MeSH	D014399

Pott's disease is a presentation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis that affects the spine, a kind of tuberculous arthritis of the intervertebral joints. More precisely it is called tuberculous spondylitis and the original name was formed after Percivall Pott (1714-1788), a London surgeon. It is most commonly localized in the thoracic portion of the spine.

Contents 1 Signs and symptoms 2 Diagnosis 3 Late complications 4 Therapy 5 Prevention 6 Cultural references 7 External links

[edit] Signs and symptoms

• back pain
• fever
• night sweating
• anorexia
• weight loss
• Spinal mass, sometimes associated with numbness, tingling, or muscle weakness of the legs

[edit] Diagnosis

• blood tests - elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate
• tuberculin skin test
• radiographs of the spine
• bone scan
• CT of the spine
• bone biopsy
• MRI

[edit] Late complications

• Vertebral collapse resulting in kyphosis
• Spinal cord compression
• sinus formation
• paraplegia (so called Pott's paraplegia)

[edit] Therapy

• non-operative - antituberculous drugs
• analgesics
• immobilization of the spine region by rod
• Surgery may be necessary, especially to drain spinal abscesses or to stabilize the spine

[edit] Prevention

Controlling the spread of tuberculosis infection can prevent tuberculous spondylitis and arthritis. Patients who have a positive PPD test (but not active tuberculosis) may decrease their risk by properly taking medicines to prevent tuberculosis. To effectively treat tuberculosis, it is crucial that patients take their medications exactly as prescribed.

[edit] Cultural references

The fictional Hunchback of Notre Dame had a gibbous deformity (humpback) that is thought to have been caused by tuberculosis. Furthermore, Jocelin, the Dean who wanted a spire on his cathedral in William Golding's "The Spire" probably suffered and died as a result of this disease. The 18th-century English poet Alexander Pope suffered from Pott's disease.

[edit] External links

• Pott Disease Tuberculous Spondylitis - from eMedicine - medical article with MRI picture
• Tuberculous arthritis. MedlinePlus. Public domain text from the US Government.de:Pott-Gibbus

pt:Mal de Pott

v • d • e Bacterial diseases (primarily A00-A79, 001-041,080-109)
G+/Firmicutes	Clostridium (Pseudomembranous colitis, Botulism, Tetanus, Gas gangrene) - Streptococcus A and B (Scarlet fever, Erysipelas) - Staphylococcus (Toxic shock syndrome) - Bacilli (Anthrax, Listeriosis)
G+/Actinobacteria	Mycobacterium: Tuberculosis (Ghon focus, Ghon's complex, Tuberculous meningitis, Pott's disease, Scrofula, Bazin disease, Lupus vulgaris, Miliary tuberculosis) - Leprosy - Lady Windermere syndrome - Buruli ulcer - Actinomycetales: Actinomycosis - Nocardiosis - Diphtheria - Erythrasma
G-/Spirochetal	Syphilis (Bejel) - Yaws - Pinta - Relapsing fever - Noma - Trench mouth - Lyme disease - Rat-bite fever (Sodoku) - Leptospirosis
G-/Chlamydiae	Chlamydophila (Psittacosis) - Chlamydia (Chlamydia, Lymphogranuloma venereum, Trachoma)
G-/α Proteobacteria	Rickettsioses (Typhus, Scrub typhus, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Boutonneuse fever, Q fever, Trench fever, Rickettsialpox) - Brucellosis - Cat scratch fever Bartonellosis (Bacillary angiomatosis)
G-/β&γ Proteobacteria	Salmonella (Typhoid fever, Paratyphoid fever, Salmonellosis) - other intestinal (Cholera, Shigellosis) - Zoonotic (Bubonic plague, Tularemia, Glanders, Melioidosis, Pasteurellosis) - Other: Pertussis - Meningococcus (Meningococcemia, Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome) - Legionellosis - Brazilian purpuric fever - Chancroid - Donovanosis - Gonorrhea