Case Report


Yeungnam Univ J Med. 2009 Jun;26(1):44-48. Korean.
Published online June 30, 2009.  https://doi.org/10.12701/yujm.2009.26.1.44
Copyright ©2009 Yeungnam University College of Medicine
A Case of Tarsal Bone Tuberculosis in a Patient with Polycythemia Vera
Sung-Ae Koh, Se-Hun Shon, Dong-Gun Kim, Sung-Woo Park, Choong-Ki Lee, Kyung-Hee Lee, Min-Kyoung Kim and Myung-Soo Hyun
Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Korea.

Corresponding author (Email: hms@med.yu.ac.kr )
Abstract

Talus tuberculosis is a rare disease, even in an endemic tuberculosis area. In reviews of the worldwide literature, only 18 cases of talus tuberculosis have been reported.

Recently, we experienced a case of a 70-year-old polycythemia vera patient with right metatarsopharyngeal joint pain for 2 months duration who was diagnosed with talus tuberculosis with prostate involvement. Tuberculosis should be considered as one of the causes of monoarticulitis, especially in countries, where the disease is endemic. Additionally, we highly recommend taking a biopsy of the site of suspected infection because an early diagnosis is the key to successful treatment.

Keywords: Polycythemia vera; Osteomyelitis; Tuberculosis