CLINICAL FEATURES OF TUBERCULOUS SPONDYLITIS IN HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS

Abstract

Thirty-five case histories were analyzed in patients with tuberculous spondylitis (TS) in the presence of HIV infection. The peculiarity of TS in HIV-infected patients is a preponderance of the disseminated and multiple forms of spinal lesion. The patients of this category versus those without HIV infection also tended to have a higher rate of significant neurological disorders (types A-C by the ASIA scale, 1992). With drastically suppressed immunity, the patients with TS and HIV infection (blood CD4+ levels of less than 200 cells/µl of blood) had the disseminated forms significantly more frequently (χ2 = 1.480; p = 0.089) and cases of multiple locations (χ2 = 4.174; p = 0.124) in the vertebral column.