Current aspects of tuberculous tenosynovitis. A report of six cases

Tuberculosis of tendon sheaths of the hand was rare before the advent of antituberculous drugs. It seems now-a-days exceptional, for the published series become more an more uncommon and smaller. Therefore, the diagnosis is often an operative surprise on a patient with a painless, gradually developing tenosynovitis. No patient suffered from other active tuberculosis. But two of them had an old history of tuberculosis (knee and kidney). Analysis of other cases is inconclusive about the relation ship between trauma and tuberculosis. Histology and cultures establish the diagnosis. Surgical treatment consists in large excision of involved tissues. The damages provoked by the illness are often important, with sometimes tendon ruptures. However, functional results are surprisingly not so bad. Antituberculous drugs are the backbone of the surgical treatment for several months.