How does TB spread to the spine?

Tuberculosis is normally spread from person to person through the air. After you contract tuberculosis, it can travel through the blood from the lungs or lymph nodes into the bones, spine, or joints. Bone TB typically begins due to the rich vascular supply in the middle of the long bones and the vertebrae.

What are the signs and symptoms of TB meningitis?

Symptoms

• Fever and chills.
• Mental status changes.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Sensitivity to light (photophobia)
• Severe headache.
• Stiff neck (meningismus)

Can TB meningitis be cured?

How is TB meningitis treated? Due to the slow progression and non-specific early symptoms of TB meningitis, diagnosis can be difficult. However, research has shown that early diagnosis and treatment can significantly improve the outcome of the disease.

How do we get TB meningitis?

Tuberculous (TB) meningitis occurs when tuberculosis bacteria (Myobacterium tuberculosis ) invade the membranes and fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

Is TB of the spine curable?

The major sites affected in bone tb are spine and weight bearing joints. It is a serious condition since it destroys the thoracic and leads to bone deformity. It is extremely important to detect bone tb symptoms as soon as possible. Bone tb is a curable condition if detected soon.

Can spinal TB cured?

It is curable In case of spine TB causes paralysis, treatment and recovery time depends on if paralysis is mild, moderate or severe. Also, in case of MDR TB, in which patients’ fail to respond well to multi drugs, it may take longer to recover completely.

Is TB meningitis bacterial or viral?

Tuberculous Meningitis (TBM) is a form of meningitis characterized by inflammation of the membranes (meninges) around the brain or spinal cord and caused by a specific bacterium known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In TBM, the disorder develops gradually.

Does TB cause memory loss?

There are a number of causes of memory loss, including medications; heavy drinking; stress; depression; head injury; infections such as HIV, tuberculosis, syphilis and herpes; thyroid problems; lack of quality sleep; and low levels of vitamins B1 and B12.

What are the stages of TB meningitis?

Stage 1 is considered alert, stage 2 is lethargy, and stage 3 is coma. The typical patient will present with several weeks of headache, fever, and a subacute alteration in mental status.

Should not walk in spinal TB?

Surgery is only for those who cannot walk. In around 10 to 20 per cent of the newly diagnosed spinal TB cases paraplegia is seen. Even if a patient has developed paraplegia, there is always a good chance of recovery if treated early.”

How do you recover from spinal TB?

A strict treatment schedule of 18 months, combined with good nutritional support and bed rest, with spinal braces, is adequate for recovery from immobility and paraplegia caused by an advanced stage of spinal infection.

How is cerebrospinal fluid used to diagnose TB?

Given the severe clinical course and high mortality associated with TB meningitis, combined with the lack of TB culture capacity in much of the developing world, WHO has endorsed testing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with the automated Xpert MTB/RIF assay as a first-line test over conventional microscopy in patients with suspected TB meningitis [2].

Where do most people with spinal tuberculosis come from?

Most of the patients with spinal tuberculosis in developed countries are immigrants from countries where tuberculosis is endemic. A study evaluated the epidemiology of musculoskeletal tuberculosis in United Kingdom and a review of data of musculoskeletal tuberculosis over a 6-year period was performed.

What are the side effects of spinal tuberculosis?

Complications can include vertebral collapse, paraplegia and paraspinal abscesses. 3, 10, 11, 12

How is the infectiousness of a TB patient related?

Educating patients on respiratory hygiene and the importance of cough etiquette procedures. The infectiousness of a TB patient is directly related to the number of droplet nuclei carrying M. tuberculosis (tubercle bacilli) that are expelled into the air. The number of tubercle bacilli expelled by a TB patient depends on the following factors: