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SA Orthopaedic Journal
On-line version ISSN 2309-8309
Print version ISSN 1681-150X
Abstract
NONYANE, DE et al. Spinal schistosomiasis in the era of tuberculosis. SA orthop. j. [online]. 2011, vol.10, n.4, pp.36-38. ISSN 2309-8309.
Spinal schistosomiasis although rare is a welldescribed entity. We report an unusual manifestation of ectopic spinal schistosomiasis involving T6/T7 with spinal cord compression in a patient on treatment for a suspected TB of the spine. The patient had T6/T7 vertebral destruction with complete paraplegia. This patient was treated at a rural hospital for spinal tuberculosis without neurological improvement and was diagnosed with spinal schistosomiasis by both histopathological means as well as serology. In areas endemic for schistosomiasis and tuberculosis, in patients with paraparesis irrespective of the level of the spinal lesion, schistosomiasis should be looked for as a differential diagnosis, especially in patients with poor response to an antiTB treatment regimen.
Keywords : Schistosomiasis; tuberculosis; spine lesion; exposure; early treatment.