Comparison of Brucella spondylitis and spinal tuberculosis clinical, radiological and pathological features of the disease to improve the differential diagnosis of the two levels.

Research done in China in 2000-01/2013-12 Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, the First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University.

1) with epidemiological history; 2) have spondylitis clinical manifestations; 3) imaging tests, including X-ray, Xray computer tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); 4) laboratory tests, including serum tube agglutination test (SAT), brucellosis anti-human Immune globulin test, tuberculosis and other clinical specificity of the antibody serology; 5) pathology or pathologic examination including Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and bacterial culture; 6) meet the diagnostic criteria for Brucellosis Endemic Disease Control Division Ministry of Health issued [7].

Immature skeletal or malformations, immunosuppressive drugs, patients with spinal trauma or other diseases spinal surgery, history of other patients or spinal infections currently exists.

257 cases of Brucella spondylitis patients, 131 male, female 126 cases, aged 21 to 82 years, mean 46 years. All patients had varying degrees of sheep, cattle, or history of exposure to drinking unpasteurized dairy and eating raw beef sterilization, lamb history, including 135 patients living in endemic areas. Before admission underwent X-ray, CT and MRI, 216 cases done in the same part of the X-ray radiography 1 to 2 years ago and CT scans, clinical and radiological misdiagnosed as tuberculosis of the spine. After admission, 257 cases by the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention, prevention and control of communicable diseases standard serum tube agglutination titers were >1:160, rose bengal plate agglutination test (2+), brucellosis anti-human immunoglobulin test drops of l:400 above, PCR (+). 68 cases positive for pathogenic examination, 257 cases were confirmed by pathological examination of brucellosis. 332 cases of spinal tuberculosis patients over the past decade in the X-ray and CT, MRI examination findings and the clinical, laboratory, surgery and pathology confirmed 145 cases were male, female 187 cases, aged 17 to 78 years, The average 43-year-old. Of which 291 cases of patients with tuberculosis, gastrointestinal history of tuberculosis or history of exposure to tuberculosis.

These patients were slow onset, fever, fatigue, night sweats, neck and shoulder pain, chest pain or persistent low back pain and lumbosacral pain may be accompanied by pain or numbness in limbs radioactive, muscle spasms, spinal movement is limited and limb multi-joint pain and other symptoms.

Brucella a zoonotic disease caused by Brucella caused by sexually transmitted diseases, occurs in agricultural and pastoral areas in recent years, the global incidence is rising in some areas severe epidemic, the city significantly higher incidence, there are three main vulnerable populations, namely in agricultural and pastoral areas have a history of contact with sick animals; and laboratory staff in contact with the bacterial culture samples; been drinking unpasteurized dairy or sterilization standards eaten uncooked beef, mutton crowd [3,8-11]. Most vulnerable to the disease affects the spine, its epidemiology has evolved from a primarily career-related disease become a major food-borne diseases [10-14]. The more extensive tuberculosis, spinal tuberculosis mainly by tuberculosis, gastrointestinal tuberculosis or lymphatic system caused by spinal infection reaches the blood circulation.

Brucellosis spondylitis clinical manifestations: 1) relaxation-type fever, fatigue, night sweats, loss of appetite, anemia; 2) associated with other organ infections, respiratory system and reproductive system infections as much, liver, spleen , swollen lymph nodes; 3) multiple, large migratory muscles and joint pain, L_4-5 involvement of the most common; 4) persistent low back pain and lower back pain, localized tenderness, percussion pain, with severe neurological roots radiating pain or symptoms of spinal cord compression [10,15-18], muscle cramps, but no kyphosis, less psoas abscess formation, spinal limited mobility, often in a fixed position, has rarely epidural abscess caused paraplegia; 5) Laboratory tests: pathogen isolation, tube agglutination test, complement fixation test, brucellosis anti-human immunoglobulin test positive [4,10-12]; 6) surgical biopsy: noncaseous granulomas [8,11,17-20].

Clinical manifestations of tuberculosis of the spine: 1) afternoon fever, fatigue, night sweats, loss of appetite, anemia; 2) accompanied by other organs of active or old tuberculosis, tuberculosis in the lungs and kidneys as much; 3) to the thoracic spine The most common lumbar T₁₂L₁ involvement; 4) persistent low back pain and chest and back pain, local percussion pain, radiating pain associated with nerve root and the corresponding muscle spasms, mostly formed paraspinal or psoas abscess, kyphosis, sports disorder, often due to epidural abscess, sequestrum, cheese substance, tuberculosis granulation tissue necrosis caused by spinal disc compression and paraplegia; 5) laboratory tests: pathogen isolation, tuberculin skin test, tuberculosis antibodies [1,4,6,21]; 6) surgical biopsy: caseous necrosis [6,21].

Brucella and Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and can invade any part of the spine [1,3,12,22], the former mostly in the lumbar spine, where the highest incidence of L_4-5, the latter thoracolumbar majority, with the highest incidence T₁₂L₁.

X-ray findings: 1) vertebral inflammation: Brucellosis spondylitis group of 257 cases of bone destruction display borderline lesions showed multifocal, multi against the upper edge of 1 to 2 vertebrae, a minority (16 cases) of three vertebrae. Early performance of small foci of bone thinning, bone defects occur several weeks after the lesions, larger lesions was “islands” shape. Lesion edge sharp, irregular worm-eaten destruction or “knife saw”— like appearance (Figure 1), no sequestrum. Of which 48 cases of vertebral centers may have been violated, the center of the vertebral body lesions usually rapid hardening, do not form a deep bone destruction defect, then gradually replaced by new bone, no signs of vertebral compression, do not form kyphosis [23]. TB group showed either center or edge-type type of bone destruction and soon invaded the adjacent disc 2 to 3 vertebrae, there may be jumping destruction, bone destruction was osteolytic lesions, vertebral body may have a hollow cen-

ter, the density is not uniform, and sequestrum formation, widened paraspinal soft tissue, normal muscle shadow blur, chronic cases seen a lot of calcification shadows; late vertebral compression into a wedge, the former narrow width, kyphosis. 2) Discitis: Brucella spondylitis group showed an early disc space narrowing, the density increased, but no damage to the vertebral endplates tendency (Figure 2); tuberculosis group showed progressive destruction of vertebral end plates and intervertebral discs density to reduce uneven intervertebral extremely narrow or disappear (Figure 3).

CT findings: 1) bone changes: Brucella spondylitis group showed multiple lesions of bone destruction no more than 5 mm in diameter with multiple, round hypodense, coarse trabecular bone disorder, the structure is unclear, edge damage foci obviously with varying degrees of sclerosis, are located in the edge of the vertebral body, new bone See also the new damage foci (Figure 4), a few found in the center of the vertebral body, facet joints also see similar changes (Figure 5), adjacent vertebral density generally increased, no sequestrum and pedicle destruction (Figure 6); spinal tuberculosis as osteolytic bone destruction, destruction of lesion or most often involving the vertebral one. See the destruction of multiple foci of irregular sequestrum, often involving the destruction of the vertebral pedicle rear (Figure 7), adjacent vertebral density generally reduced. 2) changes in the intervertebral disc: both are associated with destruc-

tion of the adjacent vertebral disc space narrowing, disc damage, but Bruce spondylitis group of CT findings such as bacillary density disc damage is often accompanied by a lot of the same fibrous tissue hyperplasia. As a result, articular surface sclerosis (Figure 8); whereas CT showed tuberculous disc damage, uneven density, there are “stars” like dead bone residue dispersed therein, bone and joint destruction or disappearance of the irregular surface (Figure 9). 3) paraspinal abscess: paraspinal soft

tissue between the vertebrae are connected to the damaged area, irregular shape, clear boundaries, pushing the adjacent psoas muscle. Reported in the literature [24-26] Brucella cold abscess disease rarely occurs. The group has 42 cases of vertebral muscle damage plane widened, within which there are limitations abscess formation, clear space around the fat, but there was no immediate signs of flow injection abscess (Figure 10); tuberculosis group not only paraspinal abscess formation, and Common calcification within the abscess, abscess often than vertebra length, forming a single room or multiple rooms or flow injection into the spinal abscess (Figure 11). 4) periosteal changes: Brucella spondylitis group vertebral

periosteal hypertrophy, bulging from the middle to the sides, like the vertebral body mottled uneven density increased, Clostridium deformed vertebra edge periosteal thickening, calcification, form a “lip” like osteophytes (Figure 12), plus the damage foci during freshman osteophytes constitute “lace vertebrae” of the characteristic performance (Figure 13), but between calcification and vertebral periosteum still legible. Adjacent vertebral osteophytes to form fused vertebrae side. Sometimes the performance of the transverse process of the periosteum top hat-shaped transverse thickening. TB group no such performance.

MRI findings: CT features in addition to the two

groups, the early detection of bone and surrounding soft tissue signal abnormalities involving the intervertebral space narrowing, vertebral body was uneven signal and found that spinal epidural abscess, or inflammatory destruction of intervertebral disc granulation tissue broke into the spinal canal, the corresponding plane spinal cord, dural sac or cauda equina compression, compression material Brucella spondylitis mostly granuloma (Figure 14), and tuberculosis of the spine, mostly disc tissue necrosis and sequestrum (Figure 15). Akman et al. [27] considered abscess edge enhancement on MRI signal prompts spinal tuberculosis. However, the present study showed

that the two groups has an edge enhancement signal abscess, but Brucella spondylitis rare epidural abscess, wherein there is no significant local tissue reaction (Figure 16), while the opposite spinal tuberculosis, etc. This point Pina [23] reported the same. Thoracolumbar spinal tuberculosis involving the vertebral body and more for osteolytic destruction, destruction of lesion or most often involving a vertebral destruction sequestrum see multiple irregularities in the kitchen, often involving the destruction of the vertebral pedicle rear, adjacent vertebral density generally reduced, local tissue reactions were; intervertebral disc damage, uneven density, there are “stars” like dead bone residue scattered in which the adjacent

vertebral endplates irregular bone destruction or disappearance, most accompanied by paraspinal abscess formation, and calcification within the common abscess, abscess often exceed the length of the vertebral lesion formation flow injection abscess, abscess edge signal enhancement [24,25]; tuberculosis of the spine is the most reliable MRI features “jump lesion” and thin and smooth abscess wall and enhanced well-defined paraspinal abnormal signal (Figure 17) [26,27]. The Brucella spondylitis and more involved in the lower lumbar vertebral segments and 1 - 2 [2,17], which is characterized by thick, irregular enhanced MRI abscess wall and ill-defined paraspinal abnormal signal, T1WI showed low signal, T2WI high signal to bone destruction evident when, T2WI high signal on fat suppression such as vertebrae, discs, accessories and intraspinal showed heterogeneous high signal (Figure 18) [2,3,28-31].

The group of 257 cases of brucellosis spondylitis pathological examination showed the lesion tissue cell proliferation, proliferation of non-caseous nodules and granuloma formation, within which there are a large number of monocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils cells infiltrated into the film composed of epithelioid cells nodular lesions, no sequestrum organizations, and the proliferation of lymphoid tissue, formation of lymphoid follicles (Figure 19). The group of 332 cases of spinal tuberculosis tuberculosis lesions reasonable examination showed nodules, nodule central caseous necrosis surrounded by epithelioid cells, Langhans giant cells and the outer periphery of the infiltrating lymphocytes, plasma

cells and a small amount of proliferation of fibroblasts, There sequestrum organization tubercle edge visible sequestrum basophils stained tissue and degeneration of fibrous connective tissue (Figure 20).