A fatal case of spinal tuberculosis mistaken for metastatic lung cancer: recalling ancient Pott's disease

Table 1 Summary of microbiological results

	Method
Specimen	AFB smear	PCR*	TB Culture ^†
Spinal tumor mass	NA	positive	NA
Paravertebral abscess	negative	positive	positive
Morning fasting gastric acid^‡	negative	NA	positive
Cerebrospinal fluid	negative	negative	positive

*PCR amplified gene fragments specific for Mycobacterium-tuberculosis-complex mycobacteria (insertion sequence IS6110). ^†Cultures grew Mycobacterium tuberculosis fully susceptible for all first line antituberculous drugs; ^‡Morning fasting gastric acid was considered as swallowed respiratory secretions according to the German authorities [1]. AFB = acid-fast bacilli; NA = not assessed; PCR = polymerase chain reaction; TB = tuberculosis

ISSN: 1476-0711