A retrospective review of 33 patients with tuberculosis of the spine from January 2000 to April 2002 revealed that the mean age was 36.5 and peak incidence is in the second decade of life (27.3%). There were 24 males and 9 females. The majority of the lesions involved the thoracic spine (30.3%), followed by the lumbar spine (27.2%). Skip lesions was seen in 12.1% of cases. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was normal in 9.1% of patients. Neurological involvement was seen in 51.5% of patients. Concomitant tuberculosis of the lung was 66.6%. The radical surgical debridement and grafting rate was 39.3%. The preferred surgical procedure was that of radical anterior debridement and fusion supplemented by anterior or posterior instrumentation if needed. Anti-tuberculous chemotherapy remained the mainstay of treatment. Surgery gives faster relief of pain and neurological recovery but is a major undertaking, and thus selection of patients is vital to avoid morbidity and mortality.
Tuberculous paraplegia in pregnancy is reported to be rare. Paraplegia due to tuberculosis has a good prognosis if surgical decompression and stabilisation are done early together with chemotherapy. Vaginal delivery is not contraindicated in pregnancy complicated by paraplegia, but is associated with problems related to the initiation and progression of labour. Performing spinal nursing on an unstable spine with a rapidly enlarging gravid uterus in the third trimester of pregnancy poses a significant challenge. We report successful simultaneous Caesarean section and surgical treatment of a paraplegic spine due to tuberculosis.