[Early diagnosis of atlanto-axial tuberculosis]

Spinal tuberculosis at the atlanto-axial level is often overlooked or misdiagnosed for a considerable period of time, until when there has developed subluxation or other obvious complications. In order to make early diagnosis of this lesion, we analysed 30 such patients of our own and found that the positive X-ray film findings, such as thickening and widening of the soft tissue shadow of the retropharyngeal wall could hardly be concerned as an early sign, subluxation of the joint and destruction of bone were definitely quite a late occurrence. While long lasting pain in the upper cervical region and limitation of motions of the neck were constantly present prior to any other positive findings. Complaints of these subjective symptoms, particularly in young person, we would emphasize, are the early signals of tuberculosis and should be cared until being proved otherwise.