Journal List > J Korean Orthop Assoc > v.22(6) > 1115808

Park, Han, Kim, Hahn, and Kim: Soft Tissue Tuberculous Abscesses of the Lower Back: Clinical Review of 7 Cases

Abstract

Tuberculosis of the bones and joints is not an uncommon condition in Korea, but extraosseous tuberculosis of the soft tissue is relatively rare. A few reports of extraosseous tuberculosis, tuberculous tenosynovitis and bursitis, hsve been published in the literature, but there have been no reports concerning soft tissue tuberculosis in other than the tendon, synovium and bursa. We reviewed 7 cases of soft tissue tuberculosis of the lower back at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine from Jan. 1984 to Sept. 1986. Five cases had received steroid injection to the lumbosscral region, and two had undergone acupuncture, thus all seven cases had experienced injections to the lumbosacral region. We think that a possible route of infection is the hematogenous one, at an area of decreased local resistance after steroid injection, And that direct inoculation of the tuberculous bacilli was result of artificial injection and acupuncture. But, further studies are needed to support the proposal that the hematogenous route following steroid injection and direct inoculation by artifical puncture is the source of soft tissue tuberculosis. These results indicate that steroid injections into the soft tissue should be performed limitedly under sterile conditions.

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