[Diagnosis and treatment of patients with tuberculous spondylitis]

The case histories of 452 patients with tuberculous spondylitis whose age ranged from 20 to 78 years are analyzed. The site of the process is given by the portions of the spine. Different events occurring in 40.4% of the patients are outlined. A correct diagnosis was established only in 24.1% of the patients in the first 3 months of the onset of a disease. It required a longer time in the remaining patients and this amounted to over 12 months in 13.5%. In the preoperative period, all the patients received chemotherapy in terms of the sensitivity of a causative agent. Surgical treatment involved resection of a vertebral lesion area and replacement of vertebral bodies with an autograft or an implant. Chemotherapy was continued in the postoperative period.