Volume 2 • Issue 2 • 1000120 J Med Microb Diagn ISSN: 2161-0703 JMMD, an open access journal Research Article Open Access Ahmed et al., J Med Microb Diagn 2013, 2:2 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2161-0703.1000120 Research Article Open Access Medical Microbiology & Diagnosis Results In this study, hundred patients with Pott’s disease of the spine were recruited. 60 patients (60%) were females and 40 patients (40%) were males. he majority of the patients fall in the age group 45-54 years, which constituted 25 cases (25%) of the study group, followed by the age group 15-24 years, 22 cases (22%). he groups 65-74, 35-44 and 25-34 constitute 20 cases (20%), 18 cases (18%) and 15 cases (15%) respectively (Table 1). he mean age of presentation in our study was 41 years. In 36 patients (36%), Pott’s disease was found in association with pulmonary tuberculosis. he main complaint in the whole study group was backache and lower limb weakness. he course of the disease was progressive. In 92 patients (92%), the onset was gradual. 87 patients (87%) said that they had experienced weight loss, where 74 patients (74%) had mild fever. 76% of patients presented with neurological deicits. Lower limb anaesthesia was seen in 72 patients (72%) and numbness in 70 patients (70%) of the whole group. 46 patients (46%) presented with weakness of the trunk, whereas 44 patients (44%) *Corresponding author: NourEldaim Elnoman Elbadawi, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Kassala, Kassala, Sudan, E-mail: noureldaim@hotmail.com Received January 26, 2013; Accepted February 28, 2013; Published March 04, 2013 Citation: Ahmed EG, Elbadawi NEE, Ibrahim EK, Mohammed MM (2013) Clinical Presentation of Pott’s disease of the Spine in Adult Sudanese Patients. J Med Microb Diagn 2: 120. doi:10.4172/2161-0703.1000120 Copyright: © 2013 Ahmed EG, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits un- restricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract Tuberculosis (TB) of the spine (Pott’s disease) is the commonest and most dangerous form of skeletal TB. Delay in establishing diagnosis and management can cause spinal cord compression and spinal deformity resulting in serious neurological deicit and bad prognosis. This was a prospective hospital-based study investigating the data on hundred cases of Pott’s disease presented to Khartoum Teaching Hospital during the period from 2008 to 2010. 60 patients were females and 40 were males. The mean age of our patients was ± 41. The course of the disease was progressive and of gradual onset in the majority of the cases. 76% of our study group was presented with neurological deicits ranging from lower limb anesthesia, numbness, trunk weakness, root pain, muscle pain and lexion spasm. Clinical Presentation of Pott’s disease of the Spine in Adult Sudanese Patients Elbashir G Ahmed 1 , Nour Eldaim E Elbadawi 2 , Elwathiq K Ibrahim 3 and Mamoun M Mohammed 4 1 Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Kassala, Sudan 2 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Kassala, Sudan 3 Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Kassala, Sudan 4 Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Kassala, Sudan Age Group Frequency % 15-24 22 22 25-34 15 15 35-44 18 18 45-54 25 25 65-74 20 20 Total 100 100 Table 1: Age groups and their frequencies in the patients enrolled in the study. Keywords: Pott’s disease; Spine; Adult; Sudanese patients Introduction Spinal TB (Pott’s disease) and surgical management of its main complication, the para vertebaral abscess was irstly described in 1782 by the English surgeon Sir Percival Pott [1]. Recent molecular studies on mycobacterial DNA demonstrated TB infection in the old spinal remains of the ancient Egyptian mummies and the Iron Age [2,3]. Spinal TB is commonest type of tuberculosis involving the bony elements. It comprises almost of half of cases of the skeletal TB [4]. Approximately 1-2% of total tuberculosis cases are attributable to Pott’s disease [5]. Many factors afect the clinical presentation of Pott’s disease. hese include; the clinical stage of the disease, the site of spine involved in the disease process and the presence of absence of complications, like neurologic deicits, paravertebral abscesses and sinuses [6]. he classical presentation of Pott’s disease of the spine is the spondylodiscitis, which is a combination of vertebral osteomyelitis, spondylitis and discitis associated with destruction of two or more contiguous segments of the spine with or without paraspinal mass [7]. he aim of this study is to describe the various clinical presentations of Pott’s disease of the spine among Sudanese patients and to provide important comparative data of the disease for both clinicians and researchers. Patients and Methods his study was a cross-sectional hospital-based study conducted at Khartoum Teaching Hospital and Shaab Teaching Hospital during the period from 2008 to 2010. Hundred patients were enrolled in the study. Written consent was obtained from the patients participated in the study. A pretested questionnaire was designed to include demographic data, history of the disease, and examination of diferent systems with emphasis on the CNS. Haematological investigations, imaging studies including plain X ray, CT scan, and myelography were done to detect the distribution of the disease among diferent regions of the spines. Biopsies were taken from some patients as appropriate and sent for histopathologic examination. Data obtained were statistically analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 11.