[Diagnosis of tuberculosis of the spine (author's transl)]

An analysis is presented of the case histories of 302 patients, admitted with tuberculosis of the spine to the Orthopaedic Department of the University Clinic, Vienna for surgical or conservative treatment. The average time between the onset of pain and the diagnosis was 13 months. Two thirds of the patients had no preceding history of healed or active tuberculosis. The average age of the patients was 40 years. Most of the patients showed tuberculous infection of only two vertebral bodies, mainly affecting the 8th thoracic to the 5th lumbar vertebrae. The diagnosis is made in most cases on the basis of the case history, clinical examination and, in particular, the radiological findings.