Advanced imaging of tuberculosis arthritis

Musculoskeletal manifestations are seen in approximately 3% of tuberculosis (MTb) cases, more commonly in the spine. Extra-axial bone and joint MTb is infrequently encountered in the West. In the last decade, public health strategies for control of MTb have been so successful in industrialized countries that many clinicians are unfamiliar with the range of extrapulmonary manifestations of MTb and therefore hold a low index of suspicion for MTb in the diagnosis of bone and joint infection. MTb, however, persists as a serious and significant cause of musculoskeletal pathology in many parts of the world and for specific patient cohorts in industrialized countries. Knowledge of the patient groups at risk and awareness of the varied osteoarticular manifestations of MTb are essential for timely diagnosis and intervention and potential cure.