title: Tuberculosis of the lower cervical spine (C5-C6) in a 24-month-old infant.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tuberculosis (TB) of the cervical spine occurs rarely in younger children whereas the presentation and outcome are different from those of adult cervical spine. Because cervical spinal TB in younger children is rarely reported, the clinical characteristics, the treatments, and the expected outcome of treatments in younger children are still unknown.
  
  
  METHODS
  We present a case of cervical spine TB in a 24-month-old boy that grounds severe vertebral destruction and an extradural abscess. This child presented with neurological deficit in the form of quadraparesis. We performed anterior cervical debridement for this patient; to our best knowledge, the child in this case is the youngest patient reported in the literature as having had cervical TB treated through anterior cervical surgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The neurological deficits of this patient were recovered soon, and no evidence of recurrence of the tuberculous lesion or of the deformity was revealed by the 6-year follow-up magnetic resonance imaging.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on our experiences in this case and a review of the literature, we propose that for patients of cervical spine TB in early childhood, anterior excision of diseased bone without grafting should be adequate as a surgical measure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, 415 Feng Yang Rd, Shanghai 200003, China.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Xiaolong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Xinwei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xuhui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yuan
mesh_terms: D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003646:Debridement; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014399:Tuberculosis, Spinal / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents
keywords: Cervical spine; Extradural abscess; Pott disease; Tuberculosis