[Rib tuberculosis: value of imaging. Report of 4 cases]

We report 4 cases of tuberculous osteitis of the ribs in patients aged 25 to 60 years. All patients had thoracic CT scan. Two cases presented as multifocal tuberculosis, involving nodes and lung in one case, a costo-verebral joint and lung in the second case. In two patients, the aspect was a misleading pseudo-tumor form with a primitive malignant bone tumor and infiltration of perivertebral and endocanalar soft tissue in one case of costo-transverse joint tuberculosis with neurologial disorder; in the other case, the rib affection presented as a breast tumor due to the involvement of anterior thoracic wall in a 50-year-old woman. In all cases, the radiological aspect was quite extensive osteolysis of the rib with involvement of endo- and/or extrathoracic soft tissue noted as cystic or tissue density. We underline the value of CT scan for a complete investigation of rib lesions, which enables characterization of soft tissues involvement, guiding biopsies and search for associated vertebral lesions.