Tuberculous spondylitis as a cause of inflammatory spinal pain: a report of 4 cases

Patients are said to have inflammatory spinal pain if they fulfill at presentation 4 of the following 5 criteria: duration of spinal discomfort for at least 3 months, spinal morning stiffness, age less than 40, insidious onset of symptoms, and no relief from pain with rest, but improvement with exercise. Inflammatory spinal pain is typical of the spondylarthropathies. Only in a minority of the cases it is found in other rheumatic disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia or infectious spondyilitis. Tuberculous spondylitis is rarely mentioned as a possible cause of inflammatory spinal pain. We describe 4 patients with tuberculous spondylitis seen over a 3-year period who met the clinical criteria for inflammatory spinal pain at presentation. We conclude that inflammatory spinal pain may be a presenting feature, albeit rare, of tuberculous spondylitis. Awareness of this finding should help facilitate the proper diagnosis and the institution of appropriate therapy.