Miliary tuberculosis accompanying paravertebral tuberculosis abscess in an adolescent

Abstract

Although miliary tuberculosis (TB) is well known, the incidence of miliary TB accompanying paravertebral abscess is extremely rare in adolescent children. We report a case of paravertebral TB abscess and miliary TB in a 17-year-old male initially presenting with fever, general weakness, back pain, sweating, cough, dyspnea and weight loss. The patient was diagnosed as paravertebral TB abscess and miliary TB. The anti-tuberculous drugs were started and the follow-up imaging showed that the lesions had disappeared without surgery. Although seldom observed, TB should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of paravertebral abscess. Copyright © 2009 Dagli et al.