John Enekele Onuminya1
,
Dorcas Salime Onuminya2
For correspondence:- John Onuminya Email: onuminya1961@gmail.com
Published: 04 September 2021
Citation: Onuminya JE, Onuminya DS. A review of Pott Disease. Trop J Med Dent Pract 2021; 2(3):61-69 doi: 10.47227/tjmdp.v2i3.3
© 2021 The author(s).
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..
Pott's disease is an eponym for tuberculosis of the spine as described by Percivall Pott in 1779. It is a destructive disease of the spine caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, one of the oldest diseases of mankind and a major cause of deaths worldwide. It is a dangerous disease with associated severe complications such as Pott's paraplegia, spinal deformities and severe abscesses. It accounts for half of the skeletal tuberculosis and a disease of global concerns with highest incidence in developing world. The diagnosis is often late and difficult in Nigeria. In northern Nigeria the presentation of a young adult with chronic back pain and angular kyphosis with or without abscess or neurological deficit is often suggestive of Pott's disease. The gold standard for laboratory diagnosis is the biopsy for confirmatory acid-fast bacilli in culture and sensitivity using Lowenstein - Jensen medium or BACTEC radiometric culture. Magnetic resonance imaging is the gold standard for radiological diagnosis of Pott's disease. The main stay of treatment is medical including the use of evidence- based multi-anti-tuberculosis drugs and bracing. Surgery is supplementary. Early diagnosis and treatment are key to successful management. The aim of this review was to highlight the burden of tuberculosis, describe surgical pathology, presentation, diagnosis and options of treatment of Pott's disease in a developing country.
