title: Tuberculous osteomyelitis of the knee.
abstract: Tuberculosis is a mycobacterial infestation which generally involves the lungs. Primary bone tuberculosis without involving the joint is rare. A 35-year-old Pakistani immigrant presented with a mass and pain over the medial aspect of the knee that had persisted for 6 months. Clinical and radiological investigations revealed a tuberculous affectation of the distal epiphysis of the femur. We did not find any visceral organ involvement. Wide excision was performed, completed with antituberculostatic drugs for 9 months postoperatively. In the 2nd postoperative year, the patient was symptom-free, and the imaging test results were normal. Primary bone tuberculosis without joint affection is a rare presentation form of this disease and should be kept in mind in the diagnostic work-up of a mass of a bone lesion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Pathology, Muskuloskeletal Oncology Unit, Hospital Clinic, C/Villarroel 170, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Combalia
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sastre
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Esteban
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005269:Femur; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010019:Osteomyelitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014394:Tuberculosis, Osteoarticular / Q000175:diagnosis*